Southern Alumni Magazine Spring 2014

A publication for alumni and friends of Southern Connecticut State University

a publication for alumni and friends of Southern Connecticut State University
ALUMNI MAGAZINE | Spring | 14
FEATURED INSIDE:
2013 CHARITABLE
GIVING REPORT
LET TER
FROM
THE
President
Dear Southern Alumni,
Higher education has recently faced intense scrutiny on
the issue of costs versus benefits. Does the degree a student
earns really give a return on investment when it comes to
finding a first job and establishing a career? Does a college
education really prepare us for real life? These are issues for
colleges and universities to seriously consider as we revisit and
update our curricula and our teaching methods.
Certainly, there has never been a more crucial time for
public higher education to stand up and deliver on its
promises. By the year 2020 — just a few short years from now
— 67 percent of all jobs in Connecticut will require a career
certificate or college degree. Yet just 46 percent of adults
currently have an associate’s degree or higher. And while
statewide access to higher education has improved
dramatically, retention rates are dropping year by year. For too
many students, the path through college ends with no degree
— and significant debt.
At Southern, we realize that it is crucial to adapt our
delivery of education to the technical realities and
opportunities of our time. We must provide our students with a
balance of workforce development and liberal education,
ensuring that they will have the practical and intellectual tool
kit needed to forge a successful career in our new, knowledgebased economy.
Just 13 years along, the economy of the 21st century is
already drastically different from that of its predecessor. As the
chief executive officer of Intel Corp. stated recently, 90 percent
of the products his company delivers on the final day of a
calendar year did not even exist when that year began. To meet
this pace of development, the workforce we need to foster must
be creative, innovative, entrepreneurial, and able to learn and
imagine. The education we offer must develop those versatile
qualities in our students.
At Southern, we are pursuing this course with new
offerings in in-demand fields, more fast-track programs that
meet the practical needs of non-traditional learners, and
facilities that will provide the best possible environment for
learning and research. Recently, for example, we have
introduced a new, accelerated MBA that will enable students to
earn their degree in 18 months through a combination of
Saturday and online courses. A B.S./B.A. in interdisciplinary
studies offers students an alternative to a traditional major,
enabling them to design their own program of study in
combined areas of concentration such as criminal justice and
forensic science, or environmental studies and marine studies.
And our M.S. in computer science has been restructured so
that its emphasis is on two tracks — cybersecurity and
software development — that represent two of the fastestgrowing fields in the country.
An array of cutting-edge science programs will be
offered in our new Academic and Laboratory Science Building
scheduled for completion in spring 2015. And, to provide
convenience for working students and give the university a
presence in New Haven’s downtown business district, we have
opened “Southern on the Green,” a suite of offices and seminar
rooms at 900 Chapel Street, adjacent to the headquarters of the
Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce.
With 85 percent of our annual graduating class
remaining in Connecticut to live and work, an investment in
public higher education is clearly an investment in our state’s
future. Or, as one of our Founding Fathers Benjamin Franklin
wisely stated: “An investment in knowledge always pays the
best interest.”
Sincerely,
Mary A. Papazian, Ph.D.
President
Southern
ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Spring | 14
features
20
Licensed to Thrill
What’s in a name?
When it comes to the
licensing industry,
there’s a wealth of opportunity. Licensing guru, Sara
Nemerov, ’98, shares the ins and outs of working with some
of the music industry’s most celebrated names.
We are the Champions!
14
It was a spectacular season for the
Owls, who won two Division II
individual national championships:
swimmer Raymond Cswerko took
first in the 200-yard butterfly and
track and field’s Nick Lebron won
the heptathlon for the second time.
The men’s basketball team also
prevailed, finishing the season with
an East Region victory and an Elite
Eight appearance.
Beautiful Música
18
With a song in their hearts, the University Choir traveled to
Spain to perform in some of Europe’s most beautiful churches.
Rich Cavanaugh,
the longestserving and
“winningest”
head football
coach in
Southern’s
history, says
goodbye to the
university he
called home for
almost three
decades.
2013 Charitable
Giving Report
37
The Power of Education
The Power of Education
2013 Charitable Giving
departments
10
From the President
Report
inside
cover
Campus News
True Blue
Nostalgia
2
8
24
Alumni News
26
30
Southern Events 36
Alumni Notes
Campus
NEWS
!
n
tio
a
r
leb
e
C
n
io
t
a
du
a
Gr

Southern Hits
the City
The university is
establishing a presence in
New Haven’s vibrant
downtown business district
at 900 Chapel Street, the
headquarters of the
Greater New Haven
Chamber of Commerce.
The university began using
the space in early 2014
after the SCSU Foundation
entered into an initial 12month lease.
“Having a presence
downtown will provide us
with greater visibility and
enable us to maximize
networking, development,
and partnership opportunities with the city’s players
in politics, commerce, education, and the nonprofit
sector,” says President
Mary A. Papazian.
The downtown location offers many potential
[CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT] A new graduate revels in his achievement. President Mary A. Papazian (right) shares a
warm moment at the ceremony. A group of graduating veterans meet with Giacomo (Jack) Mordente, M.S. ’77,
6th Yr. ’79, Southern’s coordinator of Veterans and Military Affairs (fifth from left), before the ceremony.
benefits to Southern and
its students, including the
opportunity to expand col-
T
laboration with nearby
he fall semester ended on a high note with Southern holding winter commencement ceremonies
for undergraduate and graduate students. More than 350 students who had completed their
degree requirements this fall received their diplomas at two separate exercises held at the John
Lyman Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 18. Undergraduates were honored in the afternoon,
while graduate students were recognized that evening.
Then outgoing New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. delivered the undergraduate
commencement address, encouraging students to reach for the stars and to acknowledge those
who helped them along the way.
Southern President Mary A. Papazian also provided encouraging words to the graduates.
“I have been highly impressed by the quality of our students and the self-sacrifice, determination,
and sheer hard work that you have put in to achieve your goals,” she said. “And today, for you,
our fall graduates, all that effort comes to a happy fruition.”
2 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
 Southern to Offer
New Accelerated MBA
The School of Business
is launching an accelerated
MBA program in fall 2014, a
Southern
| ALUMNI MAGAZINE
| VOL 12 • NO 1
fast-track option that will
allow working professionals to
complete their degree in just
18 months. Designed to combine quality, convenience, and
affordability, the 51-credit
hybrid program includes a
combination of Saturday and
online courses.
The program consists
of nine sessions, each lasting eight weeks. Students will complete two courses during each
of the first eight sessions. The final session will be devoted to the completion of special
projects. More information is available at SouthernCT.edu/mba or call Celina Alles-Gonzalez
Dr. Mary A. Papazian, President
STAFF
Patrick Dilger, Director of Public Affairs
Villia Struyk, Editor
Mary Pat Caputo, Associate Editor
Michael Kobylanski, Sports Editor
Marylou Conley, ’83, Art Director
Isabel Chenoweth, Photographer
Nancy Ronne, Development Editor
Charlie Davison, Alumni Notes Editor
OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS
Michelle R. Johnston, Director of
Alumni Relations
(203) 392-6500
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Southern Connecticut State University
Office of Public Affairs/
Southern Alumni Magazine
501 Crescent Street
New Haven, CT 06515-1355
Telephone (203) 392-6591; fax (203) 392-6597
E-mail address: StruykV1@SouthernCT.edu
University website: SouthernCT.edu
Printed by The Lane Press, Inc.
at (203) 392-5633.
Gateway Community
College and to enhance
recruitment efforts for transfer students. The venue also
provides an opportunity to
offer off-campus classes in
programs such as the new
accelerated MBA and
health and human services.
Additionally, the downtown
location will be convenient
for students to network
for internship and job
placements.

State-of-the-art equipment significantly enhances
research opportunities.
SMALL WONDER:
newly designated
members from the 16
Nanotech
Center a Boon
to the State
ConnSCU Center for
other institutions in the
More Connecticut
Nanotechnology that will
Connecticut State Colleges
be based at Southern.
and Universities system to
The designation,
pursue collaborative
college students will have
made by the state Board of
research and partner with
the opportunity to conduct
Regents for Higher
representatives from busi-
cutting-edge scientific
Education, opens the door
ness and industry.
research thanks to the
for students and faculty
continues on page 4
Southern Alumni Magazine is published by the
university in cooperation with the SCSU Alumni
Association two times a year and distributed free
of charge to alumni and friends of the university.
Opinions expressed in Southern Alumni Magazine do
not necessarily reflect those of the
university or the SCSU Alumni
Association. Although the editors
have made every reasonable effort
to be factually accurate, no
responsibility is assumed for errors.
Postage paid at Burlington, Vt.
Southern Connecticut State University does not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious
creed, age, gender, gender identity or expression,
national origin, marital status, ancestry, present or
past history of mental disorder, learning disability or
physical disability, veteran status, sexual orientation,
genetic information, or criminal record. The
following person has been designated to handle
inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:
Pamela M. Lassiter, J.D., SCSU, 501 Crescent Street,
BU 207, New Haven, CT 06515, (203) 392-5899,
Pamela.Lassiter@SouthernCT.edu.
Spring 2014 | 3
Campus
NEWS
continued from page 3
The center has been
Department and the direc-
cations are areas of interest
gram will be funded
tor of the center.
as well.
through a gift from the
operating for several years
The National
Werth Family Foundation,
Looking forward, a
as a Southern-based facility,
Science Foundation esti-
fellowship program affiliat-
which recently contributed
offering hands-on training
mates that two million
ed with the new center will
$3 million to advance
in a field that draws upon
workers will be needed to
award annual stipends to
Southern’s science pro-
several scientific disciplines,
support nanotechnology
several students who par-
grams. The center itself is
including chemistry, biolo-
industries worldwide with-
ticipate in nanotech
being funded through a
gy, physics, and engineer-
in the next 15 years. The
research. The students will
variety of sources, includ-
ing. Students work with
new center will support
also learn the business
ing grants from the U.S.
specialized equipment,
research in cutting-edge
side of science, such as
Department of Energy
including a state-of-the-art
areas. These include the
marketing products.
and the National Science
microscope that uses elec-
nano-medicine field, with
trons to image materials on
faculty collaborating on
the atomic scale.
topics such as how drugs
“It’s a very exciting
are delivered to the body,
time for us, especially as
and research and develop-
The fellowship pro-

Foundation.
Applause! Applause!
Congratulations to several members of the
Southern community who were recently recognized
for outstanding achievement.
Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and
technology conducted at the nanoscale, generally about
1 to 100 nanometers.
Just how tiny is a “nano?” The prefix “nano” is
translated as one-billionth or 10(-9). Simply put, one
nanometer is one-billionth of a meter . . . so small that
it’s extremely difficult to imagine. To help illustrate, here
are a few examples, courtesy of the National
Nanotechnology Initiative, a multi-departmental program
run by the U.S. government.
There are 25,400,000 A strand of human
DNA has a diameter
nanometers in a
of 2.5 nanometers.
single inch.
we await the opening of a
ment for new medical
new science building [pro-
devices and implants.
jected to be completed in
2015], which will enable
Sandra Bulmer, professor
of public health
Ellen Durnin, dean of the
School of Business
1
3/4
25
/3
13 2
/16
27
/3
2
7
29 /8
/3
15 2
/16
31/
32
1/
17/3 2
2
9/
16
19
/3
2
5
21/ /8
32
11/
16
23
/3
2
1/4
9/3
2
5/
16
11/3
2
3
13 /8
/3
2
7/
16
15
/3
2
0
3/3
1/3
2
1/16
A sheet of paper
is about 100,000
nanometers thick.
2
1/8
5/3
2
3/
16
7/3
2
one inch
The center will also
focus on environmental
Sandra Bulmer, pro-
Ellen Durnin, dean
fessor of public health, was
of the School of Business,
elected to serve a three-
was honored as the
year term as president of
Business Advocate of the
the Society for Public
Year by the Hamden
Health Education. Founded
Chamber of Commerce.
in 1950, the nonprofit
Durnin was also appointed
organization provides glob-
to the legislative Results
us to do more things with
applications of nanotech-
al leadership for the pro-
First Policy Oversight
a state-of-the-art facility
nology, such as testing
fession and is dedicated to
Committee as a represen-
and equipment,” says
devices that can sense
the promotion of the
tative of Connecticut’s
Christine Broadbridge,
microscopic pollutant parti-
health of society.
business community.
chairwoman of the Physics
cles. Manufacturing appli-
4 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
faculty faces
Professor of Art Mia Brownell
Still Life with Lost Pollinators, 2014. Oil on canvas, 24x30 inches.
Courtesy of J. Cacciola Gallery, New York
at Southern: Teaches all levels of painting and drawing
a bit of background: Born in Chicago to a sculptor and
biophysicist, Brownell has had solo exhibitions in
numerous major American cities, including recent
concurring shows in New York City and New Jersey.
Her work has been reviewed and published in many
publications, including The Boston Globe, The Village
Voice, The New York Times, Hi-Fructose, and Artnet
Magazine. Her work was recently selected by the U.S.
Department of State to be exhibited at the U.S.
Embassy in Hong Kong. The J. Cacciola Gallery
represents her in New York City.
some inspirations: Molecular models, a historical view of
still-life painting, images retrieved from the Protein
Data Bank files, and the industrialization of agriculture
and food
see her work: “Delightful, Delicious, Disgusting: Paintings
by Mia Brownell,” a 10-year survey of paintings from
2003-2013, was launched in January and will run
through November 2014. The exhibit will be at the
Juniata College Museum of Art (April 10 – Sept. 13,
Huntingdon, Pa.), and the Housatonic Museum of Art
(Sept. 25 – Nov. 17, Bridgeport, Conn.) Her work may
also be viewed at miabrownell.com.
Spring 2014 | 5
Campus
NEWS

A Patented
Approach to
Fighting Cancer
Commonly found
throughout the eastern half
of the U.S., the shade-loving Christmas fern may
provide a key to combating
an aggressive form of brain
cancer, according to Sarah
[FROM LEFT] Sarah Crawford, professor of biology, and Southern student Paulina Mrowiec continue to test the
effectiveness of an anti-cancer extract that has shown promise in pre-clinical testing.
Crawford, a professor of
biology at Southern who
has an extensive background in cancer research.
An extract made
from the fern has demonstrated anti-cancer properties in pre-clinical testing

Fast Facts. Good News.
T
he renovation of the original section of Buley Library soon will
be fully completed, with the state legislative Financial Advisory
Committee endorsing the university’s request to use reserves
conducted by Crawford
and other monies to cover the $8 million cost of finishing the
and her students. In fact,
second, third, and fourth floors. The renovation is slated to be
the results were impressive
finished by January 2015. When added to the 135,000-square-
enough to spur the U.S.
foot addition completed in 2008, the entire library will total
Patent Office to award a
245,000
patent to Crawford, as well
as Erin Boisvert, ’08, who,
I
t’s a global classroom. Southern’s Office of International
as a Southern
student,
extract was
The
common
Christmas
fern is a
key
component
of the
cancerfighting
extract.
S
outhern offers numerous faculty-led spring break and summer
opportunities. New programs in Jamaica, Brazil, Armenia, and a reenvisioned offering in China have joined seven existing programs
tested as part of
in Bermuda, Guatemala, Iceland, Paris, Rome, Spain, and Tuscany.
a three-component
S
cocktail consisting of carmustine, a powerful
in, the active ingredient in
the spice turmeric that has
S
87,000
94,000
outhern has more than
alumni,
who hold more than
degrees.
chemotherapy drug used to
treat brain cancer; curcum-
outhern’s Celebration of Philanthropy was held on Nov. 10,
recognizing leadership-level supporters of the university and the
many students who benefit from their generosity. About
anti-inflammatory qualities;
220
and polystichum acrosti-
community attended the event.
choides, the scientific name
for the Christmas fern.
6 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
increase in participation
expected to study abroad in 2014.
with the
The
25%
Education has seen a
in study abroad programs, with even more students
worked
professor.
square feet.
donors, students, and other members of the Southern
Good Deeds
The SCSU Foundation is committed to helping Southern create a climate of excellence by overseeing the
management of gifts from private sources. Recently, the foundation funded a number of new initiatives,
all designed to help Southern’s talented students succeed.
*
Lending a helping hand in times of need, the Foundation
Student Support Fund was recently established to provide students
with financial assistance outside of the traditional financial aid
process. The fund may be used for a variety of purposes. Examples
include assisting with the cost of tuition and fees for students who
otherwise would be unable to remain at the university, covering
the cost of books for students in need, and paying fees and other
costs of off-campus educational programs during summer and
other breaks.

On the Web
Pay a virtual visit to the university at SouthernCT.edu.





*
The College Board estimates that the average college student
annually spends $1,168 on textbooks and materials — a significant
burden for those faced with financial hardship. Conceived in 1996
Read Southern President Mary A. Papazian’s
blog, with spotlights on the latest campus
news and accomplishments at
president.SouthernCT.edu.
by Aaron Washington, associate dean of student affairs, the SCSU
Book Loan Scholarship Program annually awards about 40
students with demonstrated financial need approximately $500
Browse through past issues of Southern
Alumni Magazine and read alumni news at
SouthernCT.edu/alumni.
each for course books. Students are issued a voucher to purchase
textbooks at the campus bookstore and sign a written promise to
return the books at the end of the semester. The returned books
Listen as the university choir performs in
Spain — and view photos and videos from
the trip at SCSUbarcelona.tumblr.com.
are then donated to the university’s Multicultural Center library to
be loaned out to students in need. When the program recently lost
Check out a list of upcoming performances at
the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts at
Lyman.SouthernCT.edu.
Read “Wise Words,” a blog that offers tips
and insights on topics of general interest with
expertise provided by Southern’s faculty and
staff. Find it at scsuwisewords.wordpress.com.
its state funding, the SCSU Foundation stepped in, providing
financial support for the much-needed program to continue.
*
Supporting experiential learning at its best, the SCSU
Foundation is funding a new initiative — Undergraduate Research
Grants for summer 2014. The program will provide up to five
grants of $3,000 each to undergraduates who are completing
research in any academic discipline represented at Southern. A
Tests showed that
the cocktail was effective
in killing nearly half of
faculty mentor will guide each participating student. Students may
“I won’t rest until
we can kill 100 percent
accept the full $3,000 as a stipend, or if needed, a portion of the
of the cancer cells, but
money may be used for expenses related to the project.
the cancer cells tested
it’s a good start” says
— far more potent
Crawford, adding that
than use of any of the
she plans to experiment
three substances alone.
by varying the levels of
The tests were conducted
each substance to see if
on glioblastoma multi-
it increases the extract’s
forme, considered to be
anti-cancer properties.
the most deadly form of
She also says she may
brain cancer with a fatali-
test other chemotherapy
ty rate of more than 90
drugs with the Christmas
percent within five years.
fern and curcumin.
*
The SCSU Foundation is also funding the Civic Engagement/
Service Learning Initiative, a program that provides educational
benefits while supporting outreach efforts. The initiative will aid
faculty in the development of service learning methods, which
have been earmarked by the Association of American Colleges and
Universities as one of a number of “high-impact practices” — those
research has shown to have an impact on student learning and
progress toward graduation. The goal is to incorporate community
work into the curriculum so that students gain real-world
experiences that enhance their education while providing benefits
to the community.
Spring 2014 | 7


From the pool to the playing field, a look at Southern athletics.
MLS Coach Triumphs
record. The Red Bulls stacked up an MLS-best 59 points
It was a year of notable firsts for former Owl soccer
and a 17-9-8 win-loss-tie record. By winning the Shield,
standout, Mike Petke, who was named head coach of the
the team not only captured the Eastern Conference
New York Red Bulls on Jan. 24, 2013. He continued the
regular-season title for the third time (2000, 2010, 2013),
year on a high note on Oct. 27, leading the Red Bulls to
but also earned a berth in the 2014-15 Confederation of
its first Major League Soccer (MLS) Supporters’ Shield,
North, Central American, and Caribbean Association
presented to the team with the best regular-season
Football Champions League.
Petke’s coaching triumph builds on his
demonstrated success as a player. Before launching his
professional career, he spent four years at Southern,
earning All-American status and helping the Owls capture
the NCAA Division II national title in 1995. The eighth
overall pick in the MLS draft, he began his career with New
York, and went on to play with D.C. United and the
Colorado Rapids. The Red Bulls signed Petke again at the
end of 2008, and he played 35 more matches for the team
before retiring in 2010 and joining the team as an assistant
coach. While playing for the Red Bulls, Petke set numerous
club records, including games played (169 regular season,

Raising the Major League Soccer Supporters’ Shield above the crowd,
head coach Mike Petke and fans celebrate the Red Bulls’ success.

For the latest information on
Southern athletics, follow the
Owls on social media.


The Web:
Web
SouthernCTOwls.com
(links to YouTube, Twitter,
and Facebook)
YouTube:
youtube.com/
user/southernctowls

Twitter: twitter.com/
SCSU_Owls

Facebook:
Sign in to Facebook
and “Like” Southern
Connecticut State University
Athletics.
(Or use the link at the top
of the SouthernCTOwls.com
homepage.)

Instagram:
instagram.com/
southernctowls
8 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Swimming
Champions!
196 in all competitions), games started (158 regular
season), and minutes played (14,060 regular season).

Minding the Net
The men’s swimming
and diving team won the 2014
Northeast-10 (NE-10)
Championship in February
— marking the Owls’ 10th title in
11 years. Southern’s Raymond
Cswerko was named the 2014
NE-10 Championship Men’s
Swimmer of the Meet. The
junior set three NE-10 individual
records over the four-day event
— and would go on to win the
Goalkeeper Stephen Sasso stops the ball in its tracks.
It was a stellar season for Owl goalkeeper Stephen
NCAA Division II national
Sasso, who was among the top Division II soccer players in the
championship in the 200-yard
nation in several key categories. The junior, who hails from
butterfly. (More on page 14.)
Orange, Conn., had a .898 save percentage — ranking second
The women’s team
excelled as well, taking second
at the NE-10 Championship, the
among all Div. II players. He also ranked ninth with a .589 goals
against average.
Sasso, who went 10-3-1 (win-loss-tie), had nine
team’s 11th consecutive top-two
shutouts last fall and allowed only nine goals in 15 starts.
finish at the event.
SCSU finished the season with a 10-5-1 record.

Well-Rounded
Students
Champions in the class-
room and on the playing field,
Southern’s student-athletes earned
a combined grade point average
(GPA) of 3.04 for the fall 2013
semester, the best in school history. An impressive 25 percent of
Southern’s student-athletes
received a semester GPA of 3.5 or

higher for the fall 2013 semester—
and five student-athletes scored a
perfect 4.0. Congratulations to the
women’s cross country team,
which posted a 3.6 team GPA to
lead all programs. The men’s
swimming and diving team’s 3.03
was highest among the men’s
squads in the fall.

Returning Champions
It was Southern history in the making. In 1973, the men’s gymnastics team cata-
pulted to victory — winning the NCAA Division II championship. The win marked
Southern’s first national team title as well as the first NCAA team title won in any sport
by any school in the Connecticut State University System.
Southern celebrated the 40th anniversary of that record-setting season by recognizing members of the 1973 men’s gymnastics team during Homecoming 2013. Many
squad members and Abraham “Abie” Grossfeld, former coach and professor emeritus of
intercollegiate athletics, returned to campus to be honored at halftime during the
Homecoming football game.
Celebrated NFL Coach Retires
After 39 years in coaching — including the last
10 as a member of the New York Giants’ coaching staff
— Kevin Gilbride, ’74, announced his retirement in January.
Brought in by the Giants as the quarterbacks coach in
2004, he was named offensive coordinator in 2006 — and
went on to help the team capture Super Bowl victories in
2008 and 2012.
A 24-year coaching veteran of the National Football
League, Gilbride also served as offensive coordinator and
assistant head coach with the Houston Oilers (1989-94),
offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars (1995-96),
head coach of the San Diego Chargers (1997-98), offensive
coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers (1999-2000), and
offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills (2002-03).
At Southern, Gilbride was a quarterback and tight
Hall of Fame in 1997 and graciously returned to campus
end for the Owls, and went on to serve as head coach for
several times — with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in tow —
the Owls from 1980-84. He was inducted into Southern’s
to regale fans with tales of the Giants’ Super Bowl victories.
F O R M O R E S P O R TS H I G H L I G H TS ,
turn to the “Owl News” newsletter,
now available exclusively online.
Subscribe to the free newsletter by
providing your e-mail address on
the subscription form found at
SouthernCTowls.com; click on the
“Owl Club” heading.
Join the
team
behind
the
team!
The Owl Club recognizes donors
who support Southern’s Athletics
program with a gift of $50 or more.
To make a gift, go to
SouthernCT.edu/giving.
Spring 2014 | 9
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10 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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Spring 2014 | 11
You majored in communication
at Southern. What inspired
this interest?
SARA NEMEROV: I started as a computer sci-
ence major, which later changed to my
minor. When I started at SCSU, I think
computers had just been invented (kidding). But, I do recall it was the beginning of the World Wide Web. I wanted
to be a programmer of websites. I started down that path,
but as I developed an interest in business — in particular, how
people negotiate and communicate — I took more corporate
communication classes, and it became my major.
Cody
and
Simpson
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How did you become involved in the licensing industry?
NEMEROV: While getting my graduate degree from NYU, I worked at Jones Apparel Group on
Grateful
ar
Dead ge
er
from Riv
Road
the Ralph Lauren brand. I found it incredibly fascinating that products I bought every day
were licensed and not necessarily made by the company whose brand is on the goods. I had
always imagined that the Ralph Lauren team made eyewear and were mixing fragrance liquid, just as they would be creating the designer collections for apparel. I learned that wasn’t
the case and wanted to be a part of this expanding business. I spent valuable time at The
Beanstalk Group and The Joester Loria Group working with some fabulous clients and
learning from some real experts in the field. I then joined The Trump Organization to help
grow Mr. Trump’s already powerful brand. I then had the opportunity to come head up the
consumer products and brand licensing group for Warner Music Group where I have been
happily ever since.
What’s your typical day like at Warner Music Group (WMG)?
NEMEROV: I’m happy that there is no real “typical” day!
I have the pleasure of working
with an incredibly diverse set of artists in the incredibly dynamic environment of the
music industry. One minute I might be pitching a newly designed licensing program
to one of our country stars signed to our [Warner Music Nashville] label. The next
minute I could be working with one of our urban artists to plan a photo shoot for
a new product we’re launching at retail in coming weeks. Then I’m likely to be on
the phone with a retail partner to discuss plan-o-grams [a merchandising tool
that shows where products are placed in stores] or strategizing internally with our
marketing and public relations teams. The one thing that is typical is that I do
forget to eat lunch. A lot!
Grateful
d
Dead an
Head
Dogfish
n
America
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ty
u
a
e
B
12 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
What’s the most exciting part of your job?
NEMEROV: I love when our team conceives of an idea for a product, and we see it launch at
retail. It makes me proud to see our ideas go from seedling to blossom — and for people to
then line up to buy the blossoms!
e
Convers
and Wiz
r
footwea
Khalifa
r
fo
n
io
collect
er
Footlock
What’s most challenging?
NEMEROV: Staying ahead of the trends and foreseeing new avenues of
business can be challenging, but we spend a lot of time as a team
constantly brainstorming new business ideas and reinventing what
we are already doing. Thankfully, we work hand-in-hand with our
retail partners to get the right products out at the right time. Our
retail partners are honest, inclusive, and always ready to discuss strategy. We have demanding and sophisticated fans, so it is critical that
we stay ahead of the curve.
Is a lot of travel involved?
NEMEROV: It depends what your definition of
‘a lot’ is. I enjoy traveling
— seeing new places and meeting people. I travel monthly, mostly to
L.A. to see artists and managers we are working with, but often for tradeshows and to meet
with new potential partners, in places like Las Vegas, Chicago, Denver, or as far as London. I
am sure if I worked for a company like National Geographic I would have more travel!
What are a few examples of some of the licensed products
and retail partnerships that you worked on for WMG?
NEMEROV: In a few years since joining the company, my team signed more than 100 new
licenses for WMG and expanded its business by more than 300 percent. We have launched
major programs for more than a dozen artists, including Grateful Dead, Frank Sinatra, Cody
Simpson, and Wiz Khalifa. Representative products, to name a few, include: Grateful Dead
snowboards, beer, and wine; Sinatra fedoras and high-end designer pens; Cody Simpson
dolls; and a Converse footwear collection Wiz Khalifa launched with Footlocker in 2013.
What’s it like to develop products for high-proﬁle
celebrities like Cody Simpson and Wiz Khalifa?
Any brief stories you can share?
NEMEROV: I don’t believe it’s any different than developing products for a brand like Coca-Cola
Mattel
Sinatra
Barbie
or Ford Motor Company, except your brand has a vision of its own and is human. Working
with celebrities can be challenging because some may not want to be involved and share
thoughts on their brand, but I have been fortunate.
continues on page 35
Spring 2014 | 13
WE ARE THE
Champions!
It was a spectacular season for the Owls,
who won two individual Division II national
championships: swimmer Raymond Cswerko took
first in the 200-yard butterfly and track and fieldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Nick Lebron won the heptathlon for the second time.
The menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basketball team also excelled, earning
an East Region victory and an Elite Eight appearance.
Following are a few highlights from the season.
14 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
R
aymond Cswerko was the only male swimmer in the Northeast-10
to qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving
Championship. The Torrington native tackled the challenge with
gusto, returning to Southern a national champion after taking first
in the 200-yard butterfly. Cswerko finished with a time of 1 minute,
46.25 seconds, leading the field by nearly a full second.
He also had a second-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley (IM) at
the national championship, which features a global mix of competitors. In fact,
Marko Blazevski, who edged Cswerko for the 400 IM title, is a native of Macedonia
and was a member of its 2012 Olympic team. “He’s swimming against an international, world-class field. I think that makes his performance stand out a little more,”
says Owls’ coach Tim Quill, who has coached SCSU swimmers to 19 NCAA titles during his tenure.
The championship win was particularly sweet for Cswerko, who swam for
the University of Maryland during his freshman year — only to have the Terrapins
drop the swim program along with a number of other sports due to financial reasons. Undeterred, he returned to Connecticut for the 2012-13 academic year to
swim for the Owls.
Cswerko played an integral role in helping the Owls win the 2014 Northeast10 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship, the team’s 10th win in the last 11
years. He also was named the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Men’s Swimmer of
the Year, the second year in a row he received the honor.
Looking toward 2014-15, plans are in motion to move forward on the
national stage. “It starts now in the offseason. . . . I want to try to win two events
next year,” says Cswerko. “Nothing is out of the realm of possibility.”
Quill concurs: “Next year will be a different year in terms of what the minimum expectation level is. . . . If he puts in a solid summer in the pool and the
weight room, he could be a player in three or four races next year and bid for a
couple of titles.”
Swim LIKE
A
R
F
L
E
Y
T
T
BU
Spring 2014 | 15
been a spectacular journey for the men’s basketball team, which had its
finest season in Southern history. In the midst of a 19-game winning streak,
Southern captured the Northeast-10 Conference title and moved on to the
NCAA Division II Championships, where they reached the Elite Eight. The team was led
by senior and team scoring leader Greg Langston — Northeast-10 Player of the Year —
and junior guard and assists leader Tylon Smith, who excelled in the post-season. The
Owls fell to the University of Central Missouri, the ultimate champions.
Coach Michael Donnelly — who earned accolades as Northeast-10 and East
Region Coach of the Year — led the Owls to an overall 30-3 win-loss finish in 2013-14
— a program record for victories. Looking forward, optimism remains high for next
season, with twelve members returning to play.
16 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Meet the
National Champion
Nick Lebron
Senior, majoring in
exercise science
with a concentration
in human performance
Men’s Track and Field
A few claims to fame | A two-time NCAA
Division II National Champion in the
heptathlon this year and in 2012.
Also All-American in the
heptathlon (2012-13) and the
How good? |
decathlon (2012-13, 2011-12).
Lebron scored
The heptathlon | Includes seven
5,765 in the
events — the 60-meter dash, the
heptathlon at the
long jump, the shot put, the high jump,
championships this year
the 60-meter hurdles, the pole vault, and
the 1,000-meter run.
Good sport | Joined the high school track team
as a junior, competing in the high jump. Also
played high school football and basketball
for four years, and baseball as a freshman.
Favorite event | “I started as a high jumper,
— an NCAA Div. II record.
He also set a new high mark among
New England programs in all three divisions.
Fan of | Dallas Cowboys and basketball star
LeBron James
Any rest time? | The month of June. “But it’s
an active recovery. I stay moving, whether
but I’ve come to love the pole vault. It
it’s running or playing basketball with
makes or breaks a multi [a competitor in
my friends.”
the heptathlon or decathlon].”
Training for the heptathlon | “We’re the first
Goals | Hopes to attend Southern as a graduate
student to earn a master’s degree in exercise
ones at practice and the last ones to leave.
science with a focus on sport psychology.
We pride ourselves on being ‘that good’ in
Plans to keep training for post-collegiate
seven events.”
meets and ultimately go on to earn a Ph.D.
Spring 2014 | 17
18 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
USIC PROVED TO BE THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
for 59 members of the University Choir who traveled
to Spain to perform a series of concerts during
New Year’s week. The choir — which includes
Southern alumni, students, and members of the community —
sang for standing-room-only audiences at several stunning
churches in Manresa and Barcelona, including the Basilica of the
Sagrada Familia, architect Antoni Gaudi’s masterpiece.
“There’s a tremendous sense of artistic empowerment
that comes from singing in these exquisite spaces,” says Professor
of Music Terese Gemme, who directs the choir. The group performed with other choirs from the United States and Spain, and
worked with American chorale conductor and composer Craig
Hella Johnson.
In recent years, Southern’s University Choir also has performed in Ireland and London, but this trip was the most widely
attended. The Stutzman Family Foundation, which has generously
supported numerous programs and initiatives in the Music
Department, contributed $173,250 for the trip. As a result, students paid $500 or less to participate, depending on how long
they have been choir members.
In a trip marked by numerous life-changing moments,
Gemme recalls the concert at the Church of the Cave of Saint
Ignatius as being particularly poignant. The choir was to perform
a selection by the late Pablo Casals, an internationally renowned
cellist and composer from the Catalonia region of Spain. (Casals
had gone into exile following the Spanish Civil War, vowing not to
return to his homeland until Francisco Franco was defeated and
democracy was restored.)
As the University Choir prepared to sing, the conductor
turned to the audience and introduced the upcoming work, using
the composer’s Catalan name — Pau Casals. “There was this
tremendous spontaneous outbreak of applause, because we had
understood that he was one of their own,” says Gemme. “I think
we were all on the verge of tears throughout the performance. It’s
a moment I’ll never forget.”
Several members of the Southern community accompanied the choir, including Steven Breese, dean of the School of Arts
and Sciences, and university photographer Isabel Chenoweth, who
captured the experience in photos and videos. For more on the
trip, go to SCSUbarcelona.tumblr.com. 
Spring 2014 | 19
Rich ∏avanaugh,
the longest-serving and
“winningest” head football
coach in Southern’s history,
says goodbye to the university
he called home for almost
three decades.
20 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
aving led the Owls’ football
team for 29 seasons, head coach
Rich Cavanaugh began his retirement on
New Year’s Day — a fitting time for fresh
starts. His tenure at Southern ended on a
high note, with the Gridiron Club of Greater
Boston presenting the celebrated coach with the John Baronian
Lifetime Contribution to Football Award on Jan. 9. The tribute recognizes Cavanaugh’s commitment to Southern, his players, and the
game of football, which he began playing in elementary school.
Cavanaugh joined Southern in 1982 as the team’s offensive
coordinator with then head coach Kevin Gilbride (who announced
his retirement from the National Football League’s New York Giants
in January as well).
In 1985, Cavanaugh was named head coach of the Owls
and, in the ensuing decades, he guided thousands of student-athletes, setting numerous records along the way. He ended his
Southern career with 170 victories (a program record), 19 winning
seasons, and four consecutive NCAA Championship appearances
from 2005-08. Under his leadership, Southern also claimed its first
NCAA playoff victory in the 2007 season and shares of three
Northeast-10 conference titles.
Clearly, there were a lot of high points. But asked to share
his fondest coaching memories, Cavanaugh pauses for a moment
before politely refusing. “It’s four decades if you think about it —
the ’80s, the ’90s, the ’00s, and the teens,” he says. “It would depend
on who I was talking with and what era they played. . . . Someone
might say, ‘Coach, remember when we did this.’ And I’d think, ‘Wow,
that was awesome.’ But then you look at another era. . . . If you posed
that question to everyone who played for me, each would have their
own greatest memory.”
Is it like being asked to choose a favorite child, he’s asked?
“Yes, it would be kind of like that,” Cavanaugh says, his voice catching with emotion. “There have been so many great players and so
many great moments.”
Following, Cavanaugh looks back on his years at Southern,
his plans for the future, and his
thoughts on the game.
You were a two-season starter at RICH CAVANAUGH: I started playing when I was in sixth grade with Youth Football. I
American International College. wanted to play. My parents were very supportive of it, but nobody pushed me . . .
When did you begin playing football? something that I think happens to some kids today.
When did you realize that you CAVANAUGH: When I was in high school. I enjoyed the game, and how the game was
wanted to coach? taught. Football is really like a chess match. How do you attack certain defenses? How
do you defend certain offenses? I always thought of myself as a student of the game. I
didn’t just want to know what I needed to play my position; I wanted to know how
that fit into the grand scheme of things.
I admired my coaches. They were all good teachers, and I looked at their job
and thought . . . this would probably be a great career to have . . . to work with and
teach students how to play the game.
Spring 2014 | 21
You’ve been at Southern since 1982.
Has your approach to coaching changed?
CAVANAUGH: Technology has changed the game a lot. When I first started coaching, we would
What’s one thing you won’t
miss about coaching?
CAVANAUGH: One of the things I’m not going to miss is recruiting. Recruiting is the lifeblood of
What will you miss?
CAVANAUGH: Teaching. The competition. The people. Those would probably be the three areas
just film the game. Now with the internet and everything being videoed, it’s that
much easier to get information about how other teams do things. You can learn
a lot more and share it with your players.
As a coach, you have to be willing to embrace change. Whatever new
technology is in place . . . whatever new aspect of the game is in vogue . . . you
better learn about it, and you better learn how to either defend against it or use
it to your advantage.
The game is constantly evolving, but certain things are still the same.
You have to block and tackle. You have to be disciplined, work hard, and be
competitive. You have to be intelligent. You have to have poise. There are a lot of
things that haven’t changed, but I really think technology has influenced how
we do things and how we approach things.
your program. It is also very taxing. It can wear you out and, again, the technology we have
today, at times, almost muddies the water. In some ways, it can give you a much clearer picture
of the type of person you are recruiting. In some ways, they can paint a picture of themselves
that may be significantly better than they really are . . . You have to be very careful with that.
that I’m going to miss most . . . the day-to-day interaction with the people at Southern
Connecticut. You end up dealing with so many agencies as a coach. You work with the people
from Admissions . . . Financial Aid . . . the Registrar’s office. You work with the professors . . .
with Food Service. You work with your entire academic supportive staff, the athletic supportive staff, and the athletic administration. . . . There are so many people who are behind
the scenes at Southern, who probably never get the credit that they deserve. They make it all
come together. They make it happen.
Describe your job as a coach in one sentence?
CAVANAUGH: My job as a coach is to make young men
grow up before they want to.
Can you explain?
CAVANAUGH: I think sometimes they fight you . . .
based on how they think things are. I always felt that
the sooner I could get them to think about what was
really important, the better off they would be.
You’ve received numerous honors throughout your
career, including the Northeast-10 Conference
Coach of the Year Award in 2008. In January, you
received the Lifetime Contribution Award from the
Gridiron Club of Greater Boston. What was it like to
learn you were receiving this award?
22 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
CAVANAUGH: I was really surprised to be quite honest
with you. But it was a great honor and, again, it is
really because of the people who are here.
continues on page 35
Rich ∏avanaugh
A Numbers Game
Tom Godek,
’88, was
named head
football coach
at the university, after serving as the
team’s offensive coordinator for the last
13 seasons
and previously
tearing up the
field for the Owls as a standout player and captain. He brings 20 years
of coaching experience to the table, following a storied playing career
that included a free agent signing with the New York Jets.
“Through his previous experiences as a student-athlete and
assistant coach here at SCSU, Tom has played a pivotal role in some of
the most successful campaigns and moments in our decorated history,”
Awards
says Patricia Nicol, director of athletics. “We look forward to having Tom
lead our program into a new era of Owls’ football.”
Named the 2010 Division II/III Assistant Coach of the Year by the
Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, Godek has helped the Owls reach
numerous offensive marks. During his tenure, the team set records for
season highs in multiple categories, including total yards, rushing yards,
Going Pro
passing yards, touchdowns scored, and points scored, along with a new
program record for total offense in one game. A total of 68 offensive
players received All-Northeast-10 honors under his leadership.
As a student-athlete, Godek played for the Owls from 1984-87
and was a two-time All-New England selection. As a senior, he served
as team captain and took home All-Eastern College Athletic
Conference honors.
Before joining the staff of his alma mater, Godek coached for
seven years at American International College (AIC), serving as offensive line coach and assistant to the head coach. Godek helped AIC win
four division titles en route to four consecutive Northeast-10
Conference Championship appearances. AIC went on to win the conference title twice.
Godek holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Southern and a
master’s degree in education from AIC. He succeeds Rich Cavanaugh,
who retired in January.
Spring 2014 | 23
NOSTALGIA
Whoo-oo-oo Knew?
Calling all Owls. Test your knowledge of Southern’s history —
both the serious and the quirky.
Southern Connecticut
State University traces its
roots to the Sept. 11, 1893
opening of a two-year
teacher training school —
New Haven State Normal
School. What was NOT true
about the first class?
A. There were 84 students and
three faculty members, including
Arthur Boothby Morrill, the school’s
principal.
B. There weren’t enough desks for
members of the inaugural class and
plans to expand the school began
almost immediately.
C. The class was made up entirely of
women.
D. Students came from throughout
New England to attend.
Put the following flock of Southern
Before they were
known as “The Owls,” our
Owl mascots in order — from their
student-athletes were
earliest to most recent appearance.
commonly referred to as:
A. The Teachers’ Pets
B. The Educators
C. The Nutmeggers
D. The Wisemen
A.
D.
The first permanent alumni
B.
association was established in:
A.
C.
C.
1890 
 1975
B.
D.
Built at a cost of $4 million, the original
Hilton C. Buley Library celebrated its opening in
1970. Students, faculty, and staff helped by:
A. Signing up by the hundreds for the school’s
first library cards.
B. Helping to carry 202,000 volumes from the old
library in Engleman Hall to the new building.
C. Organizing a fundraiser to expand the
university’s book collections.
D. All of the above.
24 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Southern has a number of
notable firsts in its history. Which
of the following are among them:
The groundbreaking for
A. Opening the first federally funded
nursery schools in Connecticut
designed specifically to care for
children whose parents worked in
the defense industry during World
War II.
the Crescent Street campus —
Southern’s current home — was
held on Oct. 3, 1951. The first
building to grace campus was:
B. Being the location of the first U.S.
sighting of Sputnik I, the world’s
first artificial satellite.
A. Pelz Gymnasium
B. Jennings Hall
C. Connecticut Hall
C. Borrowing jerseys from Yale
University for the Owls’ first
football game.
D. Engleman Hall
D. All of the above.
Which of the following
celebrities and luminaries have
appeared on campus?
C. Whoopi Goldberg
Southern won
B. Madeline Albright
D. Stevie Wonder
its first team national
title in which sport?
A. Men’s soccer in 1987
B. Men’s gymnastics in 1973
C. Women’s basketball in 1970
D. Women’s gymnastics in 1970
Put the following Southern events in order, from the earliest to the most recent.
A. Southern launches its first doctoral program — leading to an Ed.D., a Doctor of Education degree.
B. The university celebrates the inauguration of Southern’s 11th president, Dr. Mary A. Papazian.
C. The university community gathers for a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Academic and
Laboratory Science Building.
D. Southern commemorates the 25th anniversary of its status as a university.
ANSWERS: 1) D (One student came from New York, the remainder from Connecticut); 2) B; 3) D, A, C, B;
4) B; 5) B; 6) D; 7) A; 8) E; 9) B; 10) A (2002), D (2008), B (2012), C (2013)
A. Walter Cronkite
E. All of the Above
Stevie Wonder photo by Antonio Cruz/ABr (Agência Brasil.) [CC-BY-3.0-br (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons
Spring 2014 | 25
Alumni
NEWS

I
Mighty Mentors
t’s among the most commonly shared
corporate mantras: find yourself a men-
tor. Students would be wise to heed the
advice. According to numerous studies, the
benefits of a positive mentoring relationship
are dramatic and life-changing for students —
ranging from a greater likelihood of earning
a degree to enjoying higher paychecks and
more-frequent promotions after graduation.
At Southern, more than 165 students
are capitalizing on a new Alumni-Student
Mentoring Program launched by the Alumni
Association in conjunction with the Office
of Alumni Relations. The program matches
Southern graduates with students with
similar majors and/or business interests.
“It’s a way for students to receive
support and professional advice from some-
We’re
Looking
for a Few
Good
Grads!
one who knows the university and the area
of career interest,” says Michelle R. Johnston,
director of Alumni Relations. The program kicked off
on March 12, with students meeting their mentors
at a meet-and-greet event held at the Michael J. Adanti
Student Center.
The program is flexible in design, with participants
structuring their mentoring experiences to fit their mutual
schedules. Students may stay in contact with their mentors by phone or e-mail, face-to-face meetings, or a combination of methods. Mentors and mentees also received
a brochure with guidelines and suggestions to make the
most of the experience.
The program is an offshoot of Alumni Professionals
Day, a one-day event held on campus for the past four
years. Last year, 93 Southern graduates participated, sharing information with students on a wide variety of careers,
including law enforcement, graphic design, teaching, education administration, politics, social services, law, finance,
and scientific research. “We’re fortunate to have alumni
out there who really want to help,” says Johnston.
Southern alumni who would like to serve as
lumni volunteers help Southern create a climate of excellence by supporting programs on campus and beyond.
One initiative, Alumni Volunteering — A to G (Admissions to
Graduation), offers numerous ways for Southern graduates to
share their time and talents. Most programs are flexible, so
volunteers can participate at a level that meets their needs.
Here are a few ways to get involved and pay it forward.
• Admissions volunteers help out in numerous ways.
Examples include: joining the spring postcard-writing
campaign to congratulate admitted students, helping
to represent Southern at college fairs, referring talented students to Southern, and hosting or attending
an event in your area to welcome new students.
• Share your business experience with students in a
comfortable, casual setting at Alumni Professionals
Day, held on campus each fall. Or become an Alumni
Mentor, providing ongoing advice to a student interested in your career field. (See related story at left.)
• Consider working with the university to develop
student internship opportunities at your place
of employment.
For more information or to sign on for these and
mentors, may sign up at SouthernCT.edu/alumni/
other volunteer opportunities, go to SouthernCT.edu/alumni/
mentor-program-mentor.html.
volunteers.html or call (203) 392-6500. Thank you!
26 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Going Places?
Don’t forget to show your Southern pride! We’re
looking for photos of Southern graduates traveling the
globe while wearing a favorite Southern shirt or hat, or
waving a Southern banner.
Please send a high-resolution photo of yourself,
along with your graduation year and a few lines about your
SCSU Alumni Association
Board of Directors
trip, to struykv1@SouthernCT.edu. Photos may be included
in an upcoming Southern Alumni Magazine feature.
Submissions may be edited for space and style. Thank you!
Teresa Sirico, ’70, M.S. ’73, President
Robert D. Parker, ’76, Vice President
Donald Mitchell, ’57, M.S. ’61, Treasurer
James H. Booth, ’97, Secretary
Hugh S. Cafferty, ’69, M.S. ’70, 6th Yr. ’76, Past President
Phoebe Donehoo Browning, ’04, M.B.A. ’05
Nancy Charest, ’71, M.S. ’75, 6th Yr. ’80
Kathy Glinka Coyle, ’74, M.S. ’77, 6th Yr. ’81
Susan Love D’Agostino, ’79
Nancy Dudchik, ’88
Marybeth Heyward Fede, ’79, M.S. ’87
Miriam Gonzalez-Huff, 6th Yr. ’90
Jerry Katona, ’74, M.S. ’88
Edwin A. Klinkhammer II, ’71, M.S. ’76, 6th Yr. ’92
Stephen Koestner, ’69
John Mastrianni, ’66, M.S. ’73
Judit Vasmatics Paolini, ’73, M.S. ’79, 6th Yr. ’93
Jeffrey Reilly, ’58
Nancy D. Tanguay, ’87
Deborah Sue Cedar Vincent, ’82
SCSU • Office of Alumni Relations
501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515 • (203) 392-6500
Director, Michelle R. Johnston, JohnstonM2@SouthernCT.edu
Connect WITH
Southern
ON

The Web at SouthernCT.edu and
SouthernCTOwls.com for athletics

Twitter at twitter.com/scsutweet

Facebook at facebook.com/southernct

ITunes at SouthernCT.edu/itunesu
SCSU, Office of Alumni Relations, 501 Crescent Street,
New Haven, CT 06515-1355, (203) 392-6500
Web
[FROM TOP] Members of the university community show their Southern
pride in Guatemala, on campus, and in Spain.
Spring 2014 | 27
Alumni
NEWS
By Joan Wells
self-awareness and a sense of community in the process.
Justin Pegnataro, ’05, finds it “challenging” to live in a
Based in Newtown and Granby, Conn., the nonprofit organiza-
house during the winter. Throughout the rest of the year, home
tion offers a wide range of programs for children, teens, adults,
is a yurt, a circular, domed tent, located in the woods. He
and families. “It’s about connecting with ancient practices,”
catches rainwater to wash dishes, relies on whatever light he
says Pegnataro of the school’s diverse offerings. On any given
can get through solar energy, and feasts in the woods on bull-
day lessons might include making survival shelters, living off
frogs, turtles, squirrels, groundhogs, deer, and wild plants.
edible plants, tracking wildlife, crafting a bow, or creating
“I wake up to the sun shining and the sound of birds
. . . sometimes a coyote will call,” he says. “It’s really an amazing lifestyle.”
herbal remedies — with a healthy dose of games, storytelling,
crafts, and songs thrown in.
Recently, a group of teens from the school went camp-
As the executive director of Two Coyotes Wilderness
ing in a snow cave, started a fire by rubbing two sticks togeth-
School, Pegnataro has made it his mission to share his passion
er, and cooked a turkey in an underground pit with red-hot
for the great outdoors. Founded in 2000, Two Coyotes is dedi-
rocks. The turkey was stuffed with wild edibles.
cated to helping people connect with nature — and building
“It was an epic teenage wilderness-survival experience,” Pegnataro says. “We sing songs
that connect us with nature and each
other. We come nose to nose with the
From buildings lauded for eco-friendly design
to a reinvigorated, campuswide
recycling program, the university is
committed to keeping it green.
That’s why Southern is a proud signatory
of the American College & University
Presidents’ Climate Commitment.
Please support
Southern and its
students by
contributing to
the Campus
Greening Fund.
Donations may
be made online
at giving.
SouthernCT.edu.
Or call (203)
392-6515.
history of the forest.” The programs
have a “healing effect,” and that was
particularly apparent in the aftermath
of the Sandy Hook Elementary School
shootings in December 2012, he says.
Pegnataro, who grew up in
Woodbridge, Conn., and attended
Amity High School, first enrolled at
Southern in 1999, intending to become
28 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
a teacher. But he felt something was missing, so he
dropped out for a year and moved to the forest for four
months. Pegnataro took some wilderness classes and
returned to Southern, taking a botany course with Noble
Justin Pegnataro, ’05, the executive director
of Two Coyotes Wilderness School, offers tips
on finding your inner wild child.
Proctor, ’70, M.S. ’72, professor emeritus of biology, who
would become his mentor. “He changed my life,” says
Pegnataro, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science
Schedule it in: “Scheduling is a way of making time
for what we value. Pick a time — once a day
or a couple times a week — to spend a short
time in nature.”
degree in biology and anthropology. Among the most
important lessons he learned from the professor? “My life,
my water, my fire . . . it was all a gift from nature,” he says.
It was a revelation — or, perhaps, a reawakening.
Limit screen time: “Screen time, including TV, web
browsing, and video games, accounts for quite
a few hours of our day. Children ages 8-18
average 7.5 hours of screen time a day. Ask
someone in their 60s and they’ll tell you that
their parents would kick them out of the
house and not let them home till dinner. I
suggest you do the same for your kids.”
Pegnataro says he wasn’t particularly wrapped up in
nature as a child. But his mom, a teacher at Beecher Road
School in Woodbridge, recalls that he would lie on the
ground with bird feed in his hand. Today, he’s passing on his
desire to connect with nature to the next generation. “This is
my life’s work,” he says. 
Find a sit spot: “If you are interested in connecting
In 2000, Two Coyotes was founded by Scott Eldridge, who remains president of the organization’s Board of Directors. He signed the directorship
over to Pegnataro in 2007.
deeply with nature, the best thing I have
found is to sit in one natural spot regularly
over the course of the year. I sit outside for 30
minutes every day. . . . The most amazing
things happen when we just sit and observe.
One time when I was at my spot, three baby
chipmunks ran across my lap. Don’t think that
you need to be in some remote wilderness
area. Urban and suburban areas are filled with
nature to watch.”
Hello, Big Apple!
Southern graduates who live or work in the Big Apple
are invited to join the New York City Alumni Network
by calling (203) 392-6500 or
e-mailing johnstonm2@SouthernCT.edu.
Stay tuned! Other regional alumni networks will be forming soon.
Spring 2014 | 29
alumni notes
Reunion News
• The Class of 1964 was
recognized in honor of its 50th reunion
at the undergraduate commencement
ceremony held on May 16, 2014 at the
Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport.
For more information or if you would like to
organize a reunion for your class, please
contact Alumni Relations at (203) 392-6500.
’50s
’60s
’70s
JOHN CARUSONE, ’57, M.S. ’62,
ROBERT PANNOZZO, ’69, M.S.
DAN LAURIA, ’70, was the narra-
the former mayor of Hamden,
and his wife, SYLVIA
CARUSONE, M.S. ’71, 6th Yr.
’93, live in Hamden, Conn. His
latest accomplishments include
being inducted into the 2011
Wallingford Senior Slow-Pitch
Hall of Fame.
’71, 6th Yr. ’77, has retired after
teaching for 40 years in
Connecticut, Vermont, and
Virginia. He is currently the
chair of the History
Department at Wakefield
School in Plains, Va., and lives
in Brandy Station.
tor for a production of “A
Christmas Story” at the
Bushnell Center for Performing
Arts in Hartford. A group of
Southern alumni attended a
performance of the production
and special reception in
November 2013.
Renaissance Man
president and captain of the SCSU Karate Team for three years. He
later obtained a master’s degree in interactive communications from
Quinnipiac University.
He began his career as a social media consultant for clients
such as the Terex Corporation, the State of Connecticut Department
of Public Health, and Sikorsky, but then moved on to help nonprofit
and small businesses develop their brands.
“I quickly found it more impactful and enjoyable helping smaller businesses and organizations grow throughout the community,”
says Diaz, who has worked with Southwest Community Health Center
(SWCHC) for about four years. As the community relations coordinator
for the company, he uses diverse marketing strategies to improve
healthcare access for patients throughout Fairfield County. He currently
also serves as chairman of the marketing committee at SWCHC.
In addition to being a successful businessman, Diaz is an
As
internationally recognized athlete. “Karate started out as a hobby, but
it has now become a lifestyle,” says Diaz, who has been a member of
the United States Martial Arts Team since 2010. In 2012, he was
a child obsessed with martial arts, Samuel Diaz III, ’08,
inducted into the Hall of Fame as Competitor of the Year after winning
dreamed of joining the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
his fourth championship at the World Martial Arts Games. Diaz also
Today, Diaz is a modern-day hero in his own right — a martial arts
teaches at Stratford Shotokan Karate-do, a dojo he opened with his
champion, who, at the age of 27, was the youngest honoree at the 50
father in 2009.
Most Influential Latinos in Connecticut Awards. The event was hosted
by the Latinos United for Professional Advancement in January.
Diaz was recognized for his work to promote barrier-free
access to health care with the Southwest Community Health Center in
Looking forward, he plans to keep utilizing his talents to positively influence his community through his work at Stratford Shotokan
and SWCHC. This year promises to be particularly action-packed. Diaz
will be getting married and traveling to Canada for the 2014 World
Bridgeport, Conn. The award also celebrates his efforts to promote music
Martial Arts Games to compete in seven different divisions. He also
education and culture as a percussionist and saxophone player in sever-
wants to write a children’s book about bullying. “I am the type of per-
al salsa bands, as well as his considerable martial arts achievements.
son who will try to put the world on my shoulders if I know it will
At Southern, Diaz was an active student, earning his bachelor’s
degree in international business and serving as the 2008 senior class
30 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
help,” he says.
By Bailey E. Brumbach, ’14
ART KADISH, ’71, a former
Southern assistant coach and
faculty member, was honored
by the Norwalk Old Timers
Association and inducted into
the Norwalk Hall of Fame. The
event supported Brien McMahon
High School scholarships.
ROBERT MORLOT, ’71, M.S. ’76,
was named principal of
Cambria Consulting in Boston.
STANLEY KONESKY JR., ’73,
M.S. ’86, retired from the
Branford Police Department
after 29 years, having also
spent 13 years as an instructor
at the Connecticut Police
Academy. Currently he is an
adjunct professor of criminal
justice at the University of New
Haven.
JOSEPH GIULIETTI, ’74, has
been named president of
Metro-North Railroad.
Formerly he was the executive
director of the South Florida
Regional Transportation
Authority.
GARY SCARPA, ’74, M.S. ’91, and
wife, FRANCESCA SCARPA,
’76, recently celebrated the
30th anniversary of the Youth
CONNection Players, a community theater group they
founded for high school and
college students in 1983. The
theater troupe is based in
Shelton, Conn.
LINDA MASSEY WILSON, ’74,
M.S. ’80, who has been a physical education teacher for 37
years, was featured in The Hour
newspaper in an article entitled, “Celebrating Black History
Month through Norwalk (CT)
Sports: Massey was the best of
her era.” She was inducted into
the Southern Athletic Hall of
Fame in 1999.
Support Southern.
Leave a Legacy.
Planned gifts — also called deferred or estate gifts
— can help you meet your long-term financial goals,
while providing critically needed support for Southern’s
talented and deserving students.
The university’s Development Office can supply
information on a variety of planned gifts that help
Southern maintain a climate of excellence — from
bequests that extend your generosity beyond your
lifetime to charitable gift annuities and trusts, which can
provide fixed-income payments and several tax benefits.
If you’ve already included the Southern
Connecticut State University Foundation in your will,
please let us know so that we can acknowledge your
generosity by enrolling you in the Heritage Society.
If not, please consider leaving a legacy by making
a planned gift to the Southern Connecticut State
University Foundation.
For more information, contact the Development Office.
(203) 392-5598
SouthernCT.edu/giving
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515-1355
In Print AND
On Screen
NEWS ON BOOK, TELEVISION, AND FILM RELEASES
FROM SOUTHERN ALUMNI
Paula E. Gelbach, M.S. ’67, has published a children’s book, “It’s OK!!
Everybody’s Different.” The book’s three stories feature animal characters that teach
young readers how to appreciate the beauty in themselves and others. Gelbach resides
in Topton, Pa.
Roy Nirschel, ’74, has published “My Seasons in Saigon,” which chronicles his
experiences starting the first American university in Vietnam. He lives in New York City.
James R. Benn, M.L.S. ’76, the author of numerous novels, including the “Billy
Boyle World War II” mystery series and “Traumatized: The Story of a State Trooper,” conducted a presentation at a meeting of the Friends of the Enfield Library. He lives in
Hadlyme, Conn.
Angela Carella, ’79, had her story, “The Farmer and the Storm: A Christmas tale”
printed in the Stamford Advocate.
Jane C. Elkin, M.L.S. ’86, has published a chapbook, “World Class: Poems Inspired
by the ESL Classroom.” The collection illustrates her experiences with students struggling
to address their linguistic challenges, as well as social issues such as poverty, religious
traditions, illegal immigration, education, the role of women in other cultures, and the
emotional scars of war. Elkin lives in Annapolis, Md.
Christine Beck Lissitzyn, M.F.A. ’13, an adjunct professor at Southern who
teaches introductory poetry writing and introduction to creative writing, has published
her first book of poetry, “Blinding Light.”
DOUG MACDOUGALL, ’75, has
received the Theresa S.
Brungardt Award for his outstanding service to the field of
recreation in the state of
Vermont. MacDougall also is
cited in the “Guiness Book of
World Records” for orchestrating the creation of the longestcontinuous banana split, which
measured 2 ½ miles long. He
lives in Holliston, Mass., with
his wife of 35 years, Ann.
MARY BETH ALLEN
ZAREMSKI, ’75, M.S. ’80, has
retired from Watertown Public
Schools after teaching 38 years.
She resides in Oakville, Conn.
MARCIA F. DUKANY DUKE,
M.S. ’76, was inducted into the
2013 Danbury High School
Hall of Fame. She has been a
physical education teacher for
42 years and has spent 30 years
as a coach.
MARY M. SWEENEY, ’76, is the
chief executive officer of the
Way of the Wild (WOW), a
nonprofit organization that
mentors adults and children by
fostering a connection to
nature and teaching primitive
wilderness skills. She lives in
Boulder, Colo.
ELIZABETH RHOADES, ’77, had
a solo exhibit of her pastel
paintings at the Storrs Library.
She is a signature member of
the Connecticut Pastel Society
as well as Connecticut Women
Artists. She resides in Stafford
Springs and has exhibited her
art nationwide.
DORIE POUCH PETROCHKO,
M.S. ’78, is president of the
Connecticut Natural Science
Illustrators, an art program
focusing on botanical, natural
science drawing, and painting.
She lives in Oxford, Conn.
MARY KAY DUPONT, ’79, is a
digital specialist at Mohawk, a
privately owned manufacturer
of fine papers, envelopes and
specialty substrates for commercial and digital printing.
She is based in New England.
FRANK “SID” MAIETTO, ’79,
served as co-chairperson of the
2014 International Association
of Facilitators (IAF) North
American conference, which
was held in Orlando, Fla. He
lives in Snohomish, Wash.
’80s
CLAUDETTE BEAMON, ’80,
M.S.W. ’87, 6th Yr. ’00, is the
assistant executive director for
personnel and special services
at ACES (Area Cooperative
Educational Services) in North
Haven, Conn.
GREGG DANCHO, ’80, celebrated
his 30th anniversary as director of Connecticut’s Beardsley
Zoo. He lives in Stratford,
Conn.
BARBARA A. HUNGER, ’82, has
been a registered nurse in the
Labor and Delivery Unit at
Women and Infants Hospital of
Rhode Island for 25 years. She
is also a member of the I-195
Redevelopment Commission.
She lives in Providence, R.I.
TRACY KNOFLA, ’82, M.S. ’87,
was a keynote presenter at the
Student Leadership Conference
held at the University of
Alabama in Huntsville. She is a
motivational speaker and conference trainer and lives in
Guilford, Conn.
Spring 2014 | 31
TAWNY NELB, M.S. ’83, was
reappointed to the State
Historical Records Advisory
Board in Midland, Mich. She is
president of Nelb Archival
Consulting Inc., which provides archival services and historical research and writing for
museums, archives, library
special collections, owners of
historic homes, design firms,
universities, and more.
KAREN M. THOMSON, M.L.S.
’83, has been employed at
Noah Webster Public Library
in Hartford for 21 years. She
lives in Ansonia and enjoys
judging beauty pageants.
DEBRA OLSON, ’84, M.S. ’88, was
inducted into the Connecticut
Scholastic and Collegiate
Softball Hall of Fame. She was
inducted into the Field Hockey
Hall of Fame in 2005.
DARLENE LEE, ’85, is a senior
FAMILY
TIES:
Seven
Southern
degrees
and
counting
...
Many interests. One alma mater. Members of the Carrano family — [from left] Erica, Andrew,
Donna, Dan, and Ashley — hold seven degrees in fields ranging from psychology to music.
LORI PASQUALINI, ’85, is the
AT
least some of the credit goes to an old-fashioned metal locker — one
of many that graced Southern’s Engleman Hall before its renovation.
Andrew Carrano, then an undergraduate student, recalls that his had a prime
location. So when a lovely young woman he’d previously noticed on campus
passed by carrying a large armload of books, he thought fast. “I said ‘if you ever
want to use my locker,’’’ he recalls with a laugh. The rest, as they say, is history —
for Donna Spadory and Andrew Carrano, who married on July 22, 1978 — and for
Southern Connecticut State University, which has awarded the couple and their
children seven academic degrees to date.
Today, the family’s ties to the university are stronger than ever. Adjunct
professor Andrew Carrano, who currently teaches in the Psychology Department,
holds three diplomas from Southern: a B.A. in psychology (1975), a master’s in
education (1977), and a sixth-year certificate in school psychology (1979). His
wife Donna has a B.S. in nursing (1977), and daughter Erica has
Are you part of an extended
Southern family? Send a photo
and the details to SCSU,
Southern Alumni Magazine,
501 Crescent St.,
New Haven, CT 06515-1355 or
StruykV1@SouthernCT.edu.
Thank you!
a B.A. in theatre (2007) and is currently working on her master’s
in English — all from Southern. Daughter Ashley holds a
Southern M.S. in special education (2011) and son Dan graduated in August with a degree in music. “They’ve embraced their
Southern experience,” says the proud father. “As I tell the students in my classes, Southern provides a quality, affordable
education, and the graduate school is very competitive. It’s a
wonderful place to earn your degree.”
32 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
mortgage lending officer with
Washington Trust in Fairfield,
Conn. She lives in New
Canaan.
chief financial and administrative officer for Ability Beyond
Disability in Bethel, Conn. She
resides in Norwalk with husband, BARRY PASQUALINI,
’85.
STEVEN STEINMETZ, ’85, has
been named director of clubowned fleet operations for
AAA (American Automobile
Association) of Western and
Central New York. He lives in
Fabius, N.Y.
DONALD MCAULAY, ’86, has
been appointed regional director of INROADS New England
Region. The nonprofit organization is committed to identifying and placing talented
underserved youth in business
and industry, and preparing
them for leadership roles.
CAROL A. KEARNS, 6th Yr. ’89, a
resident of Harwinton, Conn.,
for 35 years, was interviewed
and featured in the
TribLive/Neighborhoods publication for her contributions to
the community and her professional success. She produces
and co-hosts a community
access television program with
her husband, Harry Schuh.
’90s
MICHELE KELVEY-ALBERT,
’90, M.P.H. ’94, is the director
of consulting services at
Qualidigm, a national healthcare consulting company in
Wethersfield. She is also the
first in Connecticut to earn
Patient-Centered Medical
Home Content Expert
Certification from the National
Committee on Quality
Assurance. She lives in
Killingworth, Conn.
GEORGE ZYGMONT, ’90, has
joined Washington Trust as a
mortgage loan officer. He has
15 years of experience in the
industry, most recently as a
personal mortgage banker at
Naugatuck Valley Savings and
Loan in Naugatuck. He resides
in Cos Cob, Conn.
DONALD CASEY, M.S. ’91, was
selected by Packer Report
Magazine as the “Fantastic Fan
of the Month” for December
2013. The publication, which
spotlights the National
Football League’s Green Bay
Packers, recognized Casey for
developing a flag-football program at Stepney Elementary
School in Monroe, Conn.
CHRISTOPHER J. ADAMS, ’92,
has been appointed executive
assistant to the president of
Suffolk County Community
College. He earned his sixth
year degree from Hofstra
University and lives in Great
Neck, N.Y.
MICHAEL MARCIANO, ’94, has
been named managing editor
of the New Britain Herald. He
previously served 13-plus
years as the editor of The
Winsted Journal, a weekly
publication.
BARRINGTON “BARRY”
BOGLE, ’96, M.P.H. ’09, is public health director for the city
of Wilton, Conn. He lives in
Bridgeport.
RAYMOND ROCHE, ’96, received
a proclamation from Mayor
Toni Harp thanking him for
his contributions to the New
Haven Free Public Library. He
resides in Hamden, Conn.
YOLANDA JONES-GENERETTE,
M.S. ’98, 6th Yr. ’07, received
the Outstanding Educator
Award from the National
Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa at
the 28th annual AfricanAmerican Legacy Scholarship
Luncheon. She is the principal
of Lincoln Bassett Community
School in the Newhallville
neighborhood of New Haven.
KENNETH J. STEINER, ’98, is a
technical sales manager with
SeraCare Life Sciences in
Sayreville, N.J.
RICK TUFTS, M.S. ’98, 6th Yr.
’99, is the co-owner and brewer
for Triangle Brewing Company
in Durham, N.C. The company
recently opened Pint & Plate, a
tavern-like facility located in
the same city.
’00s
KEVIN KINAHAN, ’00, is a mortgage lending officer with
Washington Trust in Fairfield,
Conn. He lives in Wilton.
28th annual African-American
Legacy Scholarship Luncheon,
hosted by the National Sorority
of Phi Delta Kappa. In 2011 he
published his first book,
“Broken Gems.” He is currently a high school English
teacher.
KELLY HOPE, ’03, M.S. ’10, is the
assistant director of student
activities/facility scheduler at
Housatonic Community
College. She is a recent recipient of the Gold Apple Award,
given by the National Sorority
of Phi Delta Kappa at the 28th
annual African-American
Legacy Scholarship Luncheon.
STACY BUTKUS, M.S. ’04, is the
principal of Henry Abbott
Technical High School in
Danbury. She resides in
Waterbury, Conn., with husband, Eric, and two daughters.
CHARLES DUMAIS, 6th Yr. ’04, is
the superintendent of schools
for the Amity Regional School
District 5. He formerly served
as principal of Newtown High
School and lives in Milford,
Conn.
CHRISTOPHER
MANFREDONIA, M.S. ’00, 6th KENNY A. HOWELL, ’04, M.B.A.
Yr. ’03, is the director of physical education, health, and athletics for Darien Schools. He
previously was the athletics
director at Fairfield Ward High
School. He lives in Sandy
Hook, Conn.
ANTHONY J. TRIMBOLI, ’01,
was recognized by Amity
Regional High School at the
2013 Thanksgiving football
game for being a member of
the school’s 1978 Class LL state
championship football team.
Trimboli is a former Southern
assistant basketball coach.
BRIE MIRANDA BRYANT, ’02,
has been promoted to the position of vice president of development and production for
original programming at
Oxygen Media. A multiplatform
entertainment brand that delivers to young women, Oxygen
Media is available in 80 million
homes. Bryant was the driving
force behind some of Oxygen’s
biggest hits, including the docuseries,“Preachers of L.A.”
TASONN HAYNES, ’03, received
the Golden Apple Award at the
’06, is the chief of police in the
town of Millbury, Mass.
JESSICA KILHAM, ’05, was
appointed public services
health sciences librarian at
Quinnipiac University. She lives
in Rocky Hill, Conn.
JACQUELYNN GAROFANO, ’06,
was among those chosen by
Connecticut Magazine as “40
under 40” for 2013. She is a
materials scientist at United
Technologies Research Center.
JEFF CRETELLA, ’07, was inducted into the 27th annual East
Haven High School Alumni
Association Hall of Fame.
was with WTOC in Lexington,
Ky., and prior to that he
worked as a beat reporter for
News 8 in New Haven and as a
reporter for The Middletown
Press in Connecticut.
STARSHEEMAR BYRUM, M.S.
’11, is coordinator of Eastern
Connecticut State University’s
Women’s Center and the
Sexual Assault Response Team.
She recently participated in a
panel discussion hosted by the
English Department.
SARAH KELLY, ’11, was promoted to the position of education
manager at the Westport Arts
Center. She began working at
the center in 2012 as an
Education Fellow and, later, as
the education assistant. Her
experiences include leading
the center’s after-school art
programs, school-group visits,
workshops, summer camps,
and more.
UYI OSUNDE, 6th Yr. ’12, is the
assistant principal at Illing
Middle School in Manchester,
Conn. He previously played
football with the University of
Connecticut and went on to
play for the Cleveland Browns
and the Buffalo Bills.
CARLOS CRUZ, ’13, has followed
his dreams to China, where he
will be an educator in Shanghai
for the 2013-2014 academic
year through the Ameson Year
in China program (AYC). AYC
sends college graduates to
teach in public and private
schools across China.
DANIEL TRUST, ’13, was recognized by Connecticut
Magazine in its “40 Under 40”
list of exceptional people. A
survivor of the Rwandan genocide, Trust is a motivational
speaker and philanthropist.
COLBY WELCH CARON, ’09, is
an assistant director in the
Office of Academic Support
and Retention at Fairfield
University. She resides in
Waterbury, Conn.
’10s
JONATHAN BURTON, ’11, has
joined the WTOC News Team
in Savannah, Ga. Previously, he
LILLIAN PERMAN ROHAN, ’39,
Jan. 11, 2014, Miami, Fla.
ETHEL ELIZABETH STANNARD
COLLIER, ’40, Jan. 2, 2014,
Arlington, Texas
PHYLLIS R. SARANEC, ’40, M.S.
’96, 6th Yr. ’76, New Haven,
Conn.
MARIENNE D. FAHEY, ’42, Dec.
5, 2013, Darien, Conn.
JANICE E. SCOTT, ’43, Oct. 29,
2013, Hadley, N.H.
CATHERINE SPILLANE, ’43,
North Haven, Conn.
JEAN F. HALPIN, ’47, Dec. 29,
2013, Farmington, Conn.
MARY JOY BARRETT WALSH,
’49, Jan. 21, 2014, Hamden,
Conn.
LAURA ADAMS HACKETT, ’50,
Dec. 7, 2013, Branford, Conn.
MADELINE Y. ESPOSITO
ABATE, ’52, Nov. 22, 2013,
Uncasville, Conn.
JOHN JUST ELLIS, ’53, Feb. 8,
2014, Farmington, Conn.
JAMES LORELLO, ’53, March 2,
2012, Ivoryton, Conn.
EMANUEL T. PROSTANO, ’53,
professor emeritus, Jan. 23,
2014, Stuart, Fla.
ELLEN D. GALLO, ’54, M.A. ’57,
Jan. 1, 2014, Hollywood, Fla.
MARIA DOERING CARLSEN,
M.S. ’55, June 12, 2011, Santa
Rosa, Calif.*
*Friends and colleagues,
please contact Alan Jonas
ABJFJJ@aol.com.
MARY E. DINEEN, ’56, Jan. 4.
2014, Woodbury, Conn.
PATRICIA WHITE RUSSELL,
’56, Nov. 7, 2013, East Haven,
Conn.
MARGUERITTE WINFIELD, ’57,
Feb. 10, 2014, Milford, Conn.
Marriages
ZACHARY LAMOTHE, M.S. ’07,
and Jaclyn Raffol, Sept. 27, 2013.
IN MEMORIAM
GRACE LYONS GUNNIP, ’38,
Nov. 28, 2013, Wilmington, Del.
JOSEPH FARINA, ’58, 6th Yr. ’73,
Dec. 20, 2013, New Haven,
Conn.
ROSE ESPOSITO CRETELLA, ’61,
M.S. ’66, director emeritus of
academic advisement, Nov. 18,
2013, New Haven, Conn.
KENNETH CHATFIELD, ’64,
Jan. 1, 2014, Asheville, N.C.
Spring 2014 | 33
with Southern friends and classmates. Mail this completed
form to Southern Alumni News, SCSU Alumni Relations
Office, New Haven, CT 06515-1355; fax, (203) 392-5082;
or e-mail, AlumniInfo@SouthernCT.edu.
Name ______________________________________________________
Phone (
) ________________________________________________
Street Address ________________________________________________
City ____________________________State ________Zip ____________
SCSU Degree/Year______________Major ____________________________
E-mail ______________________________________________________
News Item____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Signature____________________________________________________
Date ______________________________________________________
Spouse’s Name ______________________Spouse's SCSU Degree/Yr. ______
Children’s Names/Ages __________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
MARILYN LEVY, M.S. ’67, Feb. 9,
Del Ray Beach, Fla.
LEONA ATTENBERG, ’68, Jan. 5,
2014, Fairfield, Conn.
Conn.
SYLVIA P. SIXFIN, M.S. ’71, Dec.
5, 2013, Cheshire, Conn.
ALICE HOBART JOHNSON
HORNE, M.L.S. ’72, Jan. 13,
2014, Tucson, Ariz.
NORMA BARBIERI, M.S. ’68, Dec. ELIZABETH “LISA”
27, 2013, East Haven, Conn.
CHEVALIER NELSON, ’72,
M.S. ’77, Salem, Conn.
ROBERT J. DONOVAN, M.S. ’68,
Jan. 11, 2014, Groton, Conn.
MARTHA SCHOBER VASILEFF,
M.S. ’72, 6th Yr. ’75,
SUSAN NATHANSON FAIREY,
’69, M.S. ’73, Feb. 15, 2014,
Woodbridge, Va.
PRISCILLA MALLY, ’69, Oct. 23,
2013, Fort Pierce, Fla.
Woodbridge, Conn.
ROBERT T. LAW, M.S. ’73,
6th Yr. ’76, Jan. 28, 2014,
West Haven, Conn.
JOYCE SCALA PROSTANO, ’69,
ESTELLE RUTH BABE GIFFIN,
M.S. ’71, professor emeritus,
Jan. 15, 2014, Stuart, Fla.
M.S. ’74, Nov. 28, 2013, Groton,
Conn.
34 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
NANCY WASSERMAN, ’84, Oct.
27, 2013, Bolton, Conn.
HUGH “CHIP” CAPEZZONE,
’85, Jan. 23, 2014, Bristol, Conn.
DREW A. CROCKER, ’85, M.S.
’94, Jan. 20, 2014, Brookfield,
Conn.
JANET CAROL HYDE
DONOVAN, M.S. ’94, Durham,
Conn.
JEFFREY S. KNEIPFER, M.S.W.
’95, Jan. 1, 2014, New Haven,
Conn.
JEREMY M. HAYES, ’02, Sept.
15, 2013, Buffalo, N.Y.
MICHAEL “MOOKIE”
RUEGGER, M.A. ’07, Feb. 10,
2014, Darien, Conn.
6th Yr. ’96, adjunct professor of SHIRLEY VARMETTE, professor
Name under which I attended college ________________________________
’71, 6th Yr. ’90, Jan. 7, 2014,
Meriden, Conn.
Yr. ’83, New Haven, Conn.
MARTIN MOORE, ’85, M.S. ’89,
 Check if this is a new address.
JOANN MILLS, ’64, Oct. 16, 2013, MARGARET “PEGGY”
Bristol, Conn.
BOIANO, ’70, M.S. ’75, Hobe
Sound, Fla.
LUKE BERTINI, ’66, Oct. 9, 2013,
Wallingford, Conn.
RONALD CHERNOVETZ, ’70,
Oct. 27, 2013, West Haven,
ALBERT F. PEDROLINI, ’66, M.S.
ELIZABETH “BETSY”
SANTELLO, ’80, M.S. ’82, 6th
PATRICIA WOODALL, ’74, Sept.
21, 2013, Uncasville, Conn.
BEVERLY BARTON HALL, M.S.
’75, Orange, Conn.
KEVIN T. WALSH, ’75, Sept. 9,
2013, Middletown, Conn.
JOAN G. GUSTAFSON, M.S. ’76,
North Port, Fla.
RUTH SUGERMAN PROPP, M.S.
’76, Jan. 16, 2014, Stamford,
Conn.
CLAYTON SCOTT SORVILLO,
’76, Dec. 28, 2013, East Haven,
Conn.
MONA V. MAIZELL, M.S. ’77,
Dec. 5, 2013, Hartford, Conn.
HELEN “PENNY” LEISENRING
VAUGHN, ’77, Oct. 3, 2013,
Orange, Conn.
CAROL ANN VENO, ’78, Sept. 15,
2013, N.J.
special education, Dec. 2, 2013,
Meriden, Conn.
SISTER MAUREEN DEMILIA,
6th Yr. ’87, Groton, Conn.
THOMAS NIKKEL, ’89, Dec. 13,
2013, New Haven, Conn.
Homecoming 2014
tell us about it
Share your good news
emeritus of sociology, Jan. 12,
2014, New Haven, Conn.
Class notes are compiled from
submissions from alumni as well
as announcements made in
newspapers and magazines.
OWL
TOGETHER
NOW
Game Plan
continued from page 22
Licensed to Thrill
continued from page 13
Cody and Wiz have both been incredible programs for us, and both treat my team
and me like we are an extension of their families. Not only will Wiz or Cody jump
on a Skype call in the evening when we urgently need them or [catch] a plane to
do an appearance when we need them to help promote something, but they also
offer ideas on the creative side and even suggestions for retail strategy.
Recently, on a trip to L.A., Wiz and I had a busy day filled with meetings — starting with a headwear line review meeting on the rooftop of a hotel in West
Hollywood. Our partner, Converse, had plane delays coming to meet us for an
afternoon meeting and was delayed over six hours. When they finally arrived at
L.A. it was after 10 p.m. Wiz moved his day around and even offered for all of us
to come to his house, since it was so late, so we could review his new Converse
collection. Some celebrities might cancel the meeting or not be accommodating.
The celebrities I work with are actually real people.
Looking back at your time at Southern, was there
a particular program or professor who had a
signiﬁcant inﬂuence?
NEMEROV: One of the best experiences was the Corp.
Communications Cohort program I did when we went to
Edinburgh, Scotland. Roger Conway [associate professor
emeritus of media studies] headed this program, and it
was an incredible experience and well organized. I will
remember it forever. It enabled me to learn how to work
with people from all cultures in an environment not familiar to me. It was eye opening.
Just curious . . . What were your interests
as a child? Did you ever imagine having
this type of career?
e
You’r d
invite
NEMEROV: As a kid, I enjoyed swimming, skiing, and riding
horses. I haven’t lost my love for equestrian. In fact, more
recently I adopted a racehorse (Secretariat’s great-greatgrandson) and hired a fabulous trainer to teach him to be
a great riding horse for me.
You’re concluding your SCSU career with
numerous accomplishments — “winningest”
coach, 19-winning seasons, four consecutive
NCAA championship appearances. To what do
you attribute Southern’s success?
CAVANAUGH : We’ve been very fortunate in my tenure to have admin-
istrators who felt athletics were an important part of the university. They gave us the tools that we needed to be successful. It always
starts with your president and the administration. We’ve been fortunate with the athletic administrators that we’ve had here. Pat
Nichol is awesome. I’ve worked under three different athletic directors, and she’s right at the top.
[Southern’s leaders] understand what it takes to be a firstclass program and the different areas you need to support if you
want to be successful. That allowed me to go out and put together
an awesome football staff — which, in turn, allowed us to go out
and recruit quality student-athletes. The coaches who I hired are
good motivators and
teachers.
They related
well to the
players, and
the players
responded
well to them.
Years from now, when people look back at your
career, what do you want them to remember
most about you?
CAVANAUGH : That I was honest with them. Sometimes I had to tell
them things they maybe didn’t want to hear. But . . . . at least I think
when they got older, they realized that I had
their best interests at heart.
I never imagined myself in a specific career as a kid,
except maybe a full-time horse caregiver. In fact, until I
was in graduate school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to
r18
e
b
o
t
Oc
-6500
(203)
392
actually do with my career. I always knew I wanted to be
independent, and I saw my Aunt Jacki (who is president
and chief operating officer of Ralph Lauren), as my mentor. Jacki is an incredible person; She works harder than
anyone I know, but finds a way to successfully balance life
and work. I always knew I wanted to have her success and
be happy doing whatever it was I chose as my path. 
What’s next on the horizon?
CAVANAUGH : I don’t know. We’ll see what hap-
pens. We bought a house in Newport, Rhode Island, a couple of
years ago. We’ll be spending some time up there, and then we’ll just
take it as it comes along and see what happens.
Will we see you in the bleachers?
CAVANAUGH : Oh yeah. I’ll definitely be here. . . .
This is my team. 
Spring 2014 | 35
Naugatuck Valley
Business After Hours
Peter White,
Rick Braun,
and
Euge Groove
May 30
8 p.m.
Three of
today’s hottest
players come
together for a
special evening
of jazz.
Undergraduate
Open House
June 26 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Oct. 19 approx. 10:30 a.m. –
Jones Family Farm
Winery, 606 Walnut Tree
Hill Road, Shelton, Conn.
(Times will be confirmed in the fall.)
Throughout Campus
EVENTS
Southern
2:30 p.m.
Experience all Southern has to offer
through campus tours and programs
on academic offerings, admissions,
financial aid, student life, and
much more.
Join us for a delightful
wine tasting, complete
with hors d’oeuvres prepared by the
Jones Family Farm’s Harvest Kitchen.
Named Connecticut Magazine’s “Best
Connecticut Vineyard” in 2013, the
winery was also recognized by the
publication for the “Best Connecticut
Wine” in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Details and online registration will
be available in September at
SouthernCT.edu/admissions/
undergraduate or call (203) 392-5644
or (888) 500-SCSU.
$10 per person. (203) 392-6500
$34 for general admission; $30 for Southern
active alumni, faculty, staff, and student guests;
and $18 for Southern students. (203) 392-6154
SCSU Day
at the Polo Club
June 8 1 p.m. for tailgate;
3 p.m. for polo match
Giant Valley Polo Club, 640 Tuttle Ave.,
Hamden, Conn.
Bring a picnic basket, your favorite
beverages, and a lawn chair for a great
afternoon of entertainment. A
designated tailgate area will be set up
for SCSU. Feel free to wear your most
stunning (or outlandish) hat!
Admission is $5 per person or $10 per car at the gate.
(203) 392-6500
Outer Island (Thimble Islands)
Aug. 16
Back by popular demand! Travel by boat to the island
to enjoy lunch and a tour conducted by Vincent Breslin,
professor of science education and environmental
studies and co-coordinator of the Werth Center for
Coastal and Marine Studies.
(203) 392-6500
Homecoming 2014
Oct. 18
Events throughout the day;
Homecoming game at noon
Come home to Southern for a campuswide celebration for the entire family.
Highlights include the alumni tent
party, the student parade of floats, the
Homecoming football game, the 5K
Robert Corda Road Race, and
much more.
(203) 392-6500
Graduate Studies
Open House
Oct. 25
Michael J. Adanti Student Center
Explore Southern’s graduate programs
in over 55 areas of study in the fields
of education, library science and
information technology, business,
health and human services, and arts
and sciences.
SouthernCT.edu/grad or (203) 392-5240
*All events held in John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts unless otherwise noted. Southern students must have valid identification to receive their ticket discounts and
are limited to purchasing one student ticket and two student guest tickets per event. For tickets and additional information and listings, visit Lyman.SouthernCT.edu.
36 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
The Power of Education
2013 Charitable Giving Report
Dear Friends,
The importance of earning a college degree for future success
is well documented. In a recent article favoring compulsory K-16
Southern’s talented students succeed. These include:
• Establishing the Foundation Student Support Fund
education, Richard Reeves and Quentin Karpilow of the
to provide students with financial assistance outside
Brookings Institution wrote: “We need to make post-secondary
of the traditional financial aid process. Areas of
education the norm for everyone, not just the advantaged. In
support include tuition and fees for those who
today’s economy, a high school diploma is not enough; now,
otherwise would be unable to remain at the
more than ever, college is the gateway to the American Dream.”
university, covering the costs of books for students in
The life-changing power of education is represented in
need, and paying costs of off-campus educational
the stories of the donors highlighted in this year’s annual
report of the Southern Connecticut State University
programs during the summer and other breaks.
• Supporting experiential learning by funding
Foundation. Joan Specter, ’56, went from living in a twofamily Quonset hut on Whitney Avenue to becoming a
undergraduate research grants for summer 2014.
• Funding the Civic Engagement/Service Learning
successful businesswoman. Although 83-year-old Douglas
Initiative, the goal of which is to incorporate
Relyea, M.S. ’08, has achieved a great deal in life, he
community work into the curriculum so that students
demonstrates his continued belief in the value of education by
gain real-world experiences that enhance their
pursuing every learning opportunity available to him. The late
education while providing benefits to the community.
Nancy Marano, ’68, professor of education, believed writing
Looking to the future, the university has embarked on the
was the essence of human society and that learning to
development of a new 10-year strategic plan, and the SCSU
communicate effectively would empower her students.
Foundation will align its fundraising efforts with the priorities
As the leaders of Southern’s fundraising efforts, we are
identified through this process. The support of alumni and friends
committed to generating the support which will ensure that
will be critical to ensuring Southern students have an educational
every Southern student is afforded the opportunity to
experience that propels them forward to successful lives. On
experience the power of education. To that end, the Foundation
behalf of the SCSU Foundation Board, we offer our sincere
has funded a number of new initiatives designed to help
appreciation for your continuing commitment to Southern.
Very truly yours,
38 | Charitable Giving Report
Robert L. Stamp
David R. McHale
Executive Director
SCSU Foundation
Chairman
SCSU Foundation
Fundraising
and Financial Highlights
Year in Review 2013
$2.74
Total Net Assets
as of Fiscal Year End
Dollars Raised
by Fiscal Year
(June 30, 2013)
in Millions
(July 1 - June 30)
in Millions
$20.1
$17.4
$17.2
$1.77
$1.66
$14.4
$1.50
$1.52
’11
’12
$11.7
’09
’10
’11
Sources of Support
for New Gifts and
Commitments
Fiscal Year 2013
$1,891,351
’12
’13
’09
’10
’13
Faculty/Staff
2%
$38,694
Friends
18%
$336,143
Corporations
19%
$354,939
Foundations
23%
$435,425
Alumni
38%
$726,150
Endowment
31%
$587,908
Restricted Support
57%
$1,079,585
Looking Ahead
According to Commonfund Securities, the latest
data further supports their longstanding view that the
U.S. economy is rebounding and inflation is well
controlled. The forecast for the U.S. economy,
corporate earnings, and the equity markets in 2014 is
optimistic, as a rise in consumer net worth, consumer
confidence, corporate cash flow, and profits continues.
Kiplinger’s Economic Outlook for 2014 anticipates
gross domestic product growth of 2.7 percent or
better, with short-term interest rates remaining low
throughout the year. Inflation is expected to tick up
slightly to 1.8 percent, and business spending is
anticipated to be up 4.5 percent to 5 percent as U.S.
growth strengthens.
Unrestricted Support
12%
$223,858
Distribution
of New Gifts and
Commitments
Fiscal Year 2013
$1,891,351
U.S. stocks ended the year with broad gains, with
the Dow Jones Industrial Average having its biggest
rally in 18 years to finish 27 percent up for the year,
according to The Wall Street Journal. At the close of
the fiscal year on June 30, the fundraising results for
the Southern Connecticut State University Foundation
significantly exceeded our estimates — ending at
close to $1.9 million. The Foundation’s net assets also
increased over the prior year to just over $20 million
as a result of healthy growth in the financial markets.
The market value of the endowments increased $1.7
million from last year to $15.4 million.
The Foundation’s Investment Committee revised their
Investment Policy through a change in asset
allocations. Commencing in January, the portfolio is
investing in small allocations to Emerging Markets,
Hedge Equity, Global Bonds, and Distressed Debt.
This change in policy will help weather any potential
downturn that may present itself in the future. The
Foundation Board remains optimistic that its
investment portfolio will continue to achieve earnings
that, when combined with generous contributions
from our constituents, should provide strong support.
Our objectives remain to increase resources available
for scholarships and programmatic initiatives.
Spring 2014 | 39
Living the
Dream
Celebrated as a
businesswoman,
politician, and
culinary wonder,
Joan Specter, â&#x20AC;&#x2122;56,
establishes a
scholarship that
honors friendship
and the life-changing
power of education.
By Natalie Missakian
40 | Charitable Giving Report
J
oan Specter, ’56, can’t recall exactly how much tuition
cost when she attended Southern, but she remembers it
being “ridiculously low” — maybe $20 or $30 a semester
— and to her that seemed like a lot.
Specter, wife of the late U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter
(D-Pennsylvania), was a newlywed and had come to New
Haven so her husband could attend law school at Yale. The couple
had very little money and was living on Whitney Avenue in the
Quonset huts, a tract of prefabricated two-family homes often used
by the military to house soldiers during World War II.
“They were tin-roof buildings with one floor, and the walls were
paper thin. You could hear everything your neighbor said,” Specter
recalls. “One family lived in the front of the hut, and another family
lived in the rear. It was a wild experience, I can tell you that.”
It was there that Specter met Louise Jongewaard — everyone
called her “Dode” — who lived next door and was also attending
Southern while her husband studied at Yale Divinity School. Bonded
by similar circumstances, the two women quickly became friends.
“We were very poor. We had no money. But we had a house —
a good ol’ half of a Quonset hut — and we packed up every
morning and went to school,” Specter remembers. “And we felt like
we were the luckiest people in the world that we could get a college
degree for so little money.”
So when Specter established a scholarship at Southern in
December 2012, she decided to name it the Joan Specter and
Louise (Dode) Jongewaard Endowed Scholarship in honor of their
friendship and their pursuit of an affordable education. The money
is earmarked for undergraduate students who are in good
academic standing and demonstrate financial need.
“I gave a gift to the school because they gave me a gift. They
gave me the gift of education — an affordable education — and it
was wonderful,” she says.
Specter started at Southern in 1953 (she already had one year
at Temple University under her belt), when the school was known
as New Haven State Teachers College and was still located on Howe
Street. Hers was the first class to graduate from the new campus,
which bore little resemblance to the Southern of today. “They had
just one building and no auditorium, and we graduated in this big
open field, sitting on folding chairs,” Specter remembers.
After graduating with a liberal studies degree, she returned to
Philadelphia and earned a master’s in food and design from Drexel
University. Her husband would go on to serve 30 years in the U.S.
Senate, the longest of any Pennsylvania senator. Specter,
meanwhile, made a name for herself as a dessert maven and
successful businesswoman and later launched her own political
career as a four-term Philadelphia city councilwoman.
While in graduate school, she met her cooking partner and
together they opened a culinary school. As her reputation in the
culinary world grew (she also wrote a food column in the local
paper and had a food-related radio show), she was approached by
“I gave a gift to the school because
they gave me a gift. They gave
me the gift of education — an
affordable education — and it
was wonderful.”
— Joan Specter, ’56
a local entrepreneur who wanted to start a dessert business and
asked Specter to develop the product.
“I said, ‘Well, what do you have in mind?’ and he said he was
interested in pies,” she recalls. “So I said, ‘Sure. But it will take me a
while to figure out what I want to do.’ ”
Specter tested recipes and came up with the two signature pies
that made her — as one Philadelphia Inquirer food writer dubbed
her — the queen of the local pie trade: the candied walnut apple
and the double chocolate mousse. In 1977, she opened her bakery
and started selling pies to local restaurants. The business grew
into a wholesale food distribution company and by the late 1980s,
her gourmet frozen pies could be found in restaurants and upscale
food markets across the country.
A few years into her business venture, she was approached to
run for the Philadelphia City Council. She won the 1979 election
and was re-elected three more times.
Upon leaving politics, she worked for more than a decade as a
fundraiser for the National Constitution Center, a museum located
across from Independence Hall and dedicated to educating the
public about the Constitution. Now retired, she lives in Philadelphia
and has two sons, Shanin, who is an attorney, and Steve, an MD who
has a doctorate in nutrition, as well as four grandchildren, one of
whom attends Yale. She still keeps in touch with her friend Dode,
who lives in California. “We talk on the phone all the time,” she says.
Specter’s words of wisdom to Southern students and graduates
are simple: Keep your mind open and say yes.
“That’s what I did in my life. What did I know about running a
bakery? Or being a city councilwoman? I mean, really?” she asks.
“There are lots of possibilities out there. Just because you went to
school to be a teacher, doesn’t mean you have to be a teacher. You
can be anything you want to be. You just have to really want to be it.”
Spring 2014 | 41
Part Two
Douglas Relyea, M.S. â&#x20AC;&#x2122;08,
capitalizes on an
education program
for seniors â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
and establishes a
scholarship to help
others earn their degrees.
By Natalie Missakian
42 | Charitable Giving Report
D
ouglas Relyea, M.S. ’08, takes the catchphrase
“lifelong learner” to a whole new level.
The 83-year-old former chemist has spent
the last 15 years taking classes at Southern, first
as a graduate student pursuing his master’s in
biology and now — after reaching that goal in 2008 — as an
undergrad majoring in French. He is a proud, if unorthodox,
member of the Class of 2014, who was set to receive his bachelor’s
degree in May as this issue went to press.
“I give new meaning to the word “senior,” quips the
octogenarian, who is minoring in German and has grandchildren
the same age as many of his classmates.
Relyea is taking advantage of a program that lets Connecticut
residents 62 and older enroll in courses at state public universities
and colleges tuition free. Under the program, applicants can take
unlimited courses where space is available after paying a registration
and other basic fees. In addition to being offered at Southern, the
program is available at Eastern, Central, and Western Connecticut
State universities and the University of Connecticut, as well as the
state’s community colleges.
Relyea figures by the time he is finished, the state will have
subsidized his education to the tune of nearly $50,000. After doing
the math, the Bethany, Conn., resident decided he should pay the debt
forward, so he established the Douglas I. and Mary L. Relyea Endowed
Scholarship at Southern, named for Relyea and his wife. The
scholarship is open to undergraduate students majoring in French
or German who maintain a grade point average of 2.7 or higher.
“I looked around at all these students paying for every credit
and thought I really should give something back,” he says.
Relyea has a long-held commitment to education. He already
holds a bachelor’s from Clarkson University, a master’s from
Cornell, and a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. He also
completed one year of post-doctoral studies at the University of
Wisconsin and worked for 40 years as a chemist with Uniroyal. He
has received 19 patents for his research, developing insecticides and
fungicides for crop protection and has authored 25 scientific papers.
When he retired, his desire to keep learning drew him to
Southern, where he has been taking classes since at least 1999.
Steven Burian, chair of the Biology Department, who worked with
Relyea on his master’s thesis, notes that it’s likely Relyea had taken
all of the biology courses in Southern’s catalog.
“He took a huge number of courses, probably double the number
of courses that you need for a master’s degree,” Burian recalls.
Relyea says he pursued his master’s in biology because he has a
deep interest in insects, entomology, and ecology — a curiosity
that was piqued during his many years working on insecticides.
His master’s thesis focused on the taxonomy of the mayfly.
His interest in world languages also goes back to his days as a
chemist. He was expected to have rudimentary knowledge of
French and German because scientific terminology was rooted in
“I looked around at all these
students paying for every credit
and thought I really should
give something back.”
— Douglas Relyea, M.S. ’08
those languages, but he always wanted to master them, he says.
Relyea jokingly calls himself a transfer student, explaining that
Southern gave him credit for 10 liberal arts classes he took while
earning his first bachelor’s degree more than 60 years ago. He also
received a waiver for the mandatory “Introduction to Wellness.”
Relyea has run a total of 180 road races and 120 biathlons and
continued to run until a knee injury eight years ago forced him to
give up the sport. He estimates he has logged around 35,000 miles.
“I’d done races. I had a body mass index (BMI) of 21. I have an
annual physical exam. I eat three meals a day at a table. I was, at
the time, 81 or 82 and still breathing in and out. Did I really need a
course in Introduction to Wellness?” he recalls. So he wrote to the
department chair of Public Health and pleaded his case. He quickly
got an e-mail back from his secretary, telling him that the department
chair was granting the waiver “and we both envy your BMI.”
Luke Eilderts, assistant professor of French, says Relyea brings
a different perspective to the classroom than a student fresh out of
high school.
“He’s beloved by his fellow students. He’s very intelligent,” says
Eilderts, who coordinates the French program.
Burian adds that Relyea was a role model for the fledgling
scientists in his classes, who were learning how to ask the right
questions and apply scientific principles.
“Doug was great at that because he already had all that
background. It was second nature because that’s how he lived his
life,” Burian says.
When the class discussed research papers, for example, Relyea
often questioned their conclusions. Sometimes he even re-did the
analyses. “He would never accept anything at face value — which
is how science should be,” Burian says.
Relyea says he is getting an “excellent” education at Southern
and notes that a key to finding happiness in the golden years is to
come up with a five- to 10-year plan before retiring. “Don’t just leave
the job and go home and put your feet up and watch TV,” he says.
Spring 2014 | 43
The
Teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
Teacher
Professor Nancy Maranoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
passion for education
influenced countless
students as well as her
family. A memorial
scholarship established
in her honor continues
her legacy at Southern
and beyond.
By Natalie Missakian
44 | Charitable Giving Report
W
hen Kristin Marano leaves the house —
even if it’s just for a quick run to the grocery
store — she always brings a book with her
“just in case.” It’s a habit she learned from her
mother, who was never without a book even
when she became too ill to read them herself.
“We were encouraged to have a book with us wherever we
were, wherever we went,” says Marano, who describes a childhood
home filled with bookshelves. “We always had family discussions
about what we were reading.”
Kristin’s mother, Nancy Marano, ’68, believed reading was the
foundation for good writing, and she was passionate about passing
on that skill to her own family and students.
At Southern, she was a longtime professor of education and
an architect of the university’s Writing Across the Curriculum
program, which promotes writing in every academic discipline and
offers workshops and tutoring for faculty and students. In a fitting
tribute, the university dedicated a student writing competition in
the professor’s honor after her death in 2011. The Nancy Marano
Writing Across the Curriculum Award annually recognizes the best
student work completed in writing-intensive courses.
“In her mind, writing really was the essence of human society,”
says her husband, John Marano, (pictured at left) of Madison,
Conn. “She loved good writing, she loved her students, and she
wanted her students to be able to communicate effectively.”
To honor that passion, he established the Nancy Laine Marano
Endowed Scholarship Fund at Southern. The scholarship is open to
a junior or senior in the School of Education who maintains a
grade point average of 3.5 or higher. To be considered, applicants
must write an essay explaining why they deserve the award.
“She was quite an effective communicator,” John Marano adds.
“She had a special way with people, making them feel comfortable.”
One of her first students was none other than her husband.
The two met at a New Haven nightspot while John was at Yale
University and Nancy was attending Western College. She had
come home to the New Haven area for Thanksgiving break and,
serendipitously, “it was one of the few times I hadn’t gone home for a
holiday,” he recalls. A friend of Nancy’s suggested he ask her to dance.
“I followed the advice,” he says. Soon after, she transferred to Southern,
where she earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. They
married in 1968 and have two daughters, Kristin and Lauren.
Although John worked in engineering, his job required more and
more writing as he climbed the corporate ladder into management.
“I needed a lot of help,” jokes Marano, who held corporate
executive positions at Mobil and Union Carbide and now owns a
company that makes medical devices. “She took me under her
wing and helped me with my writing and communications, which
I really believe helped my career. As time passed, if I had an
important piece of writing for my job, she would review it and give
me pointers, and I would do the same for her. We bounced things
off of each other in that way.”
“She was always a teacher —
as far back as I can remember.”
— Kristin Marano
Nancy Marano began her career as a special education teacher in
Charleston, W. Va., specializing in children with learning disabilities,
and later held teaching and tutoring positions in Princeton, N.J.,
and New Canaan, Conn. She earned a master’s in special education
from West Virginia Graduate College in 1977 and a doctorate in
educational studies from the University of Michigan in 2000.
In 2001, she joined the faculty at Southern, where she was
actively involved in academic life. In addition to serving on the
Writing Across the Curriculum Committee, she was a member of
the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board and was faculty
advisor to the Future Teachers of America.
Professor of Mathematics Maria Diamantis, who worked
closely with Marano, describes her colleague as enthusiastic,
patient, and caring. “One of her students gave her a plaque that
read ‘You Inspire Me,’” says Diamantis. “She kept it in her office,
where she could easily see it and always be reminded of her
mission. She was completely devoted to her students.”
“I only ever knew my mom as dedicated to the discipline of
education,” says Kristin Marano, who now lives in Winston-Salem,
N.C. “To say that she was passionate about it sounds limited and
trite. It was more just who she was, foundational to her being, part of
her core. She was always a teacher — as far back as I can remember.”
Marano says her mother often spoke of her students and how
much she enjoyed watching future teachers in the classroom. “You
could see the twinkle in her eye when she’d talk about them,” John
Marano adds.
In her personal life, Marano believed strongly in human rights,
women’s rights, and helping the poor. She also was fiercely
protective of those she loved, her husband says. Although
diminutive in stature and typically reserved, she often surprised
people when she spoke in defense of her beliefs. “She was calm but
very determined,” John Marano says.
He remembers one family vacation in Cape Cod when a sales
clerk spoke harshly to the couple’s young daughters. Marano
marched back into the store and gave the woman an earful about
treating children with respect.
“She was reserved until you pushed her buttons,” he jokes.
Knowing how thrilled she would have been to help others
obtain a college education, he says the family has enjoyed meeting
some of the scholarship recipients, describing them as “wonderful,
pleasant, and very smart students.”
Spring 2014 | 45
Giving to Southern
Honor Roll of Donors
Our Honor Rolls recognize gifts made between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information; however, errors and
omissions may have occurred. Please accept our apologies for any inaccuracies. If you find an error, please contact Susan Quagliaroli at (203) 392-7083.
President’s Club Patrons
$10,000+
Doris & James Barber
Community Foundation for
Greater New Haven
Compass Group USA Inc.
Estate of Wanda Dick
Sylvia Drexler
Drexler Foundation
Estate of Robert Eisele
Geraldine Frankel
Lynn Fusco
Fusco Corporation
Anne Gundersen*
Haskins Laboratories
Amy Huie-Li
Janice Illingworth
Albert Jett
Rita Landino
John Marano
Shannon & David McHale
The National Collegiate
Athletic Association
New Haven Register
Northeast Utilities Foundation
The Oaklawn Foundation
Audrey Paight
Joseph Paight
Paul L. Jones Fund
Douglas Relyea
Estate of Dorothy Schrader
Joan Specter
Walter Stutzman
Stutzman Family Foundation
Margaret & John Sullivan
Richard Tripodi
46 | Charitable Giving Report
United Way of Central &
Northeastern Connecticut
Estate of Rebecca Ward
Werth Family Foundation
William Caspar Graustein
Memorial Fund
WSHU Public Radio Group
President’s Club
$5,000 - $9,999
Barnes & Noble College
Bookstores Inc.
Katherine Barrett
Michael Chambrello
Kerb Productions Inc.
Stephen Koestner
Edward Mack
Newman’s Own Foundation
John Petto
Christine & John Powderly
Richard Russo
Sage Family Trust
SCSU Alumni Association
Gladys & John Soto
Southern Gymnastics LLC
Space-Craft Manufacturing Inc.
Anthony Tamburri
Whitney Center
Wiggin & Dana LLP
Blue & White Club
$1,000 - $4,999
Kristen Adanti-Pedersen &
Jon Pedersen
Elizabeth Ailes
Aldo Dedominicis Foundation
Alloy Engineering Company
Inc.
American Honda Motor Co. Inc.
Paula Armbruster
Jaye Bailey
William Ball
Regina Barbaresi
Beacon Wealth Management
Kimberly Bean
Hilary Bertisch
Corinne Blackmer
James Blake
Peter Boppert
Peter Breihof
William Burns
BVH Integrated Services
Barbara & Peter Cairney
Jill & Jacques Cesaire
Ann Christmann
Citizens Bank
Clear Channel Broadcasting
Inc. New Haven
Coca-Cola Refreshments
Maureen Collins
Comcast
Comerica Wealth &
Institutional Management
Connecticut Magazine
Rose Cretella*
Kimberly Crone
Michael Deans
Jerry Dunklee
Ellen Durnin
Dworken, Hillman, LaMorte &
Sterczala PC
Deborah Edwards
Marjy Ehmer
Fairfield County Community
Foundation Inc.
FIP Construction Inc.
Anna Fraulo*
DonnaJean Fredeen
Philip Gaboriault
Carlene Gaudette
Mark Germain
Sandra Hague
Frank Harris
HB Communications Inc.
Kathryn Hughes
Chris Hutchinson
ING Life Insurance & Annuity
Susan Jennings
Jewish Foundation of Greater
New Haven
JHTNA Inc.
Michelle Johnston
Michael Katz
Marianne Kennedy
Julia Kobus
Mary O’Connell Kozik
L. Holzner Electric Company
Myrtle Leonard*
Liberty Mutual Group Inc.
Raymond Mackowski
Thomas Madigan
Magilla Entertainment
Marcum LLP
James Mazur
McBride Wayside Carpet &
Furniture Co. Inc.
Joan McGuire
Lawrence McHugh
Memorial Day Classic
Sharon Misasi
Mary Ann & Donald Mitchell
William Morgan
Eileen Moriarty
Joseph Natarelli
National Philanthropic Trust
Newtown Parent Connection
Inc.
Northeast Generator Company
Inc.
Northeast Utilities Service
Company
Rocco Orlando
Barbara Ortoleva
Sarah & Richard Paige
Donna Palmieri
Pauline Schwartz Trust Fund
Gregory Paveza
People’s United Bank
William Pratt
Timothy Quill
Nicole Rinehardt
Anita & Joseph Sabatino
Robin Sauerteig
SC Football Camp LLC
SCSU AAUP
SCSU Student Government
Simplex Grinnell LP
Skanska USA Building Inc.
Sidney Skolnick
Clifford Smith
Marcia Smith
Stanley Black & Decker Inc.
The L. Suzio Concrete Co. Inc.
Sandra Thielz
Tim Greer Insurance Agency
Inc.
Tonelli Sports LLC
Tri-State Brick of Connecticut
Carolyn Vanacore
Anthony Verlezza
Visiting Nurse Association of
South Central Connecticut
Patricia & J. LeRoy Ward
Webster Bank
Diane Wishnafski
Yale University
Associate’s Club
$250 - $999
Antonio Aceto
Jodi Adolf
Aetna Foundation Inc.
Heidi Allen
Linda & Gary Altieri
Anthony Amendola
Charles Andriole
Cally & Joseph Angeletti
Aon Foundation Inc.
Michael Ashwood
AT&T Foundation Higher
Education Matching Gift
Program
Kathleen Bagley
Ralph Barbieri
Christine Barrett
Christina Baum
Michael Ben-Avie
Denise Bentley-Drobish &
Robert Drobish
Frank Blefari
Daniel Boffa
Anthony Bonadies
Joan Bonvicini
Christopher Borajkiewicz
Violet Bornemann
Christine Broadbridge
John Brown
Sara Brown
Lise Brule
Ellen Budris
Steven Buechele
Edward Burke
Terrell Bynum
Robert Caciopoli
Josephine & George Caffrey
Lisa Cain
Alaina Calabro
Conrad Calandra
Mary Pat Caputo
Richard Carney
Andrew Carrano
Mark Ceneviva
Centerbrook Architects and
Planners
Jane Cheek
Sherryl Chin
Catherine Christy
Lori Ciccomascolo
CIGNA Foundation
Brian Clarke
Kenneth Coleman
Marie Coll
Comcast Foundation
Marylou Conley
Connecticut Community
Foundation
Connecticut Public
Broadcasting Inc.
Connecticut Women’s Hall
of Fame
Carole Connelly
Cosmo Corigliano
Shirley Costello
Claudia Crafts
Holly Crawford
Brad Crerar
Gregg Crerar
John Criscuolo
Lauralee Cromarty
Lewis Crone
Karen Cummings
Josephine & Martin Curry
Thomas Curtin
Elizabeth Curtis
Susan D’Agostino
Arthur D’Almeida
Scott Dana
John DaPonte
Darter Specialties Inc.
James Dawes
Pamela Day
Richard DeCesare
Joan & Raymond DeFrancesco
Amanda & Robert DeMezzo
David Denino
Patricia & Michael D’Errico
Aniruddha Deshpande
Ann Dombroski
Dominion Foundation
Kevin Donnelly
Michael Donnelly
Mike Donnelly Basketball
Academy LLC
Ann Donnery
Joseph Dooley
Elizabeth Driebeek
Driven2Inspire
Betsy Duckworth
Dun & Bradstreet Co.
Foundation
Elisabeth Durso
Laura Elsenboss
ESI International
Josephine Farley
Robert Felder
Deborah Flynn
Jared Forcier
Jessica Forcier
Rosemary Forni
Joseph Friello*
John Fuller
Vincent Gagliardi
Peggy Gallup
Lisa Galvin
Linda Garfinkel
Henry Gates
Carole Gauger
Terese Gemme
Stephanie Gibbons
Kevin Gilbride
Christina Gilleylen
Ross Gingrich
Krista Grande
Matthew Grande
Alison Green
Rosanne & Robert Griffin
Aaron Gross
Haddam Killingworth
Sunshine Fund
Irene Haller
Jan Hamilton
James Hance
Edward Haydon
Robert Heins
Lars Helgeson
Barbara Higgins
Joan & William Holley
Catherine Inglese
Nancy & Vincent Inglese
Sondi Jackson
Kurt Jagielow
Marilyn & Warren Jaqua
Sara Johnson
Jonthan Judd
Patricia Kahlbaugh
Steven Karjanis
Karjanis & Sons Motors LLC
Frank Keeney
Jeffrey Keeney
Shawn Kelly
Robin Kenefick
Judy Kiely
Roberta Kieronski
Thomas King
Georgianna Kleiman
Lewis Klunk
Sarah Costello Knauf
Paul Kobasa
Nancy Kohl
Philanthi Koslowski
Ernest Krajcik
Jocelyn Kravecs
William Krumm
Lillie Kumar
Gerard Kunkel
Daniela & Frank LaDore
Timothy Landry
Richard Larson
Laurel Beach Consultants LLC
Lissa Law
Martin Lawlor
Donald Lemieux
Anne Leone
Lifetime Care at Home LLC
Limpiex Cleaning Service Inc.
Candace Lumia
Brian Lussier
Alan Machuga
Sean Mahon
Barbara Mallick
Susan Manke
Mansir Printing
Robert Margolies
Doris Marino
Rosalind Marottoli
Jane Marrone
Holly Masi
Mark Masi
Carmella Mastrogiovanni
Allison McCaffery
Robert McGannon
Michael McGrath
Laura McLaughlin
Kevin McNamara
E. Marie McPadden
Merck Company Foundation
P. Minou Michlin
Stephanie & William Miller
Harriett Milnes
Milone & MacBroom
Giacomo Mordente
Edward Morgan
Gary Morin
A. Duffy Mudry
Timothy Murphy
Cynthia & Frank Nappi
Letitia Nastri
Nationwide Foundation
Gerard Nelson
Vara Neverow
New Haven Roadrace Inc.
Deborah Newton
Patricia Nicol
Eleanor & Anthero Nicolau
Theresa O’Connor
Kevin O’Reilly
Philip Palma
Christopher Palmer
Patricia Panichas
Judit & George Paolini
Robert Parker
Carol Parmelee
Timothy Parrish
Rodney Paul
Belinda Pearman
Francis Pentino
Arthur Perschino
Anthony Peruso
Philip Pessina
Kathleen Peters
Christine Petto
Pfizer Foundation
Janice Piazza
Mary Piccioli
Constance Pino
Christopher Piscitelli
John Potkay
Marilyn Price
Sean Raffile
Jaak Rakfeldt
Kate Ramunni
Jeffrey Reilly
Donald Reilly
Stacey & Richard Riccardi
Salvatore Rizza
Linda Robinson
George Romano
Wiltraud Roze
Kristin Russo
Ronald Sader
Elizabeth Sahlin
Phyllis Salerno
Richard Salerno*
Barbara Salzano
Lorraine Samela
Margaret Samela
Frank Santino
Elizabeth Scaduto
Ronald Schwartz
Stanley Seliga
Michael Shea
Robert Sheeley
Barbara Kennedy Shortell
Peter Sieviec
Christopher Silhavey
Eric Simms
Lori Simon
Michael Sjovall
Forrest Smith
Jessica Somerville
Joseph Sorrentino
Dawn Stanton-Holmes
Kenneth Steiner
Brigitte Stiles
Beth Stoller
Donald Stuhlman
Suburban Worldwide Travel
Agency LLC
Subway Restaurants
Brendyn Sullivan
Linda Sullivan
SUOAF/AFSCME
Jean Sutherland
Daniel Swartz
Heidi Szobota
Jennie Taddia
Angela Todaro
Lawrence Tomascak
Guy Tommasi
Doris Townshend
Cynthia Tuchman
United Technologies
Corporation
Jeffrey Upchurch
Donald Vance
Verizon Foundation
Joseph Verzino
Ronald Walker
Elizabeth Walsh
Jan Wang
Mark Waters
Richard Watson
Katherine & Richard Wellner
Wepawaug-Flagg Federal
Credit Union
Jay Whelan
Patricia Whelan
Anna Whitaker
Michael Wilder
John Williams
Patricia Williams
Melissa & Marvin Wilson
Winners Edge Strategies Inc.
Eileen & Gary Wolff
Roger Wolfson
Patricia Woodford
Jane Wright
David Zack
Michael Zilinek
Spring 2014 | 47
Century Club
$100 - $249
Cheryl & David Abraham
Katherine Acocella
John Adamovich
Michael Adamski
Frederick Afragola
Deborah Ahern
Albrecht’s Auto Repair Inc.
Judson Aley
Carol Allen
Richard Allison
Ellen Alpert
Michael Ambrosecchio
Janet Amento
Amgen Foundation
Carol Anderson
Donna Lou Anderson
Lauren Anderson
Louis Andre
Katherine Andriole
Stacey Andritsopoulos
Michael Angelini
Ronald Arbitelle
Andrea Arellano
Barbara Arens
Mickel Arias
Alice Armstrong
Caroline Atherton
Alfred Badger
Amanda Bailey
Richard Bailey
Maxine Balaban
Joanne Baldauf
Joseph Bandiera
Mary-Beth Bantham
Sharon Baraiola
Leonard Barbieri
William Barker
Robin Barna
Ellen Bauer
Curtis Bean
Helene Becker
Patricia Bennett
Marise Benson
Matthew Berberich
Mark Bergamo
Betsy Bergen
Dorothy Berger
Christopher Berglund
Berlin Bicycle & Repair Shop
Betsy Bern
Lois Bernardi
Val Bernardoni
Florence Berrien
Rosemary Berton
Stephen Betz
Veronica Beuther
Fred Bialka
Marcia Biase
Barbara Bilodeau
Joseph Binkoski
Janis Blasiak
Barbara Bohn
Andrea Bonazzoli
Virginia Bonitatebus
Kathleen & Leonard Bonn
48 | Charitable Giving Report
James Booth
Booz Allen Hamilton
Barry Boriss
Laurie Boske
April Bowe
Laura Bower-Phipps
Sylvia Boyd
Bonnie Bredes
Donna Brennan
Vincent Breslin
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Isobel Broadhurst
Marga Brockhagen
Rose Celone
Jennifer Charbonnier
Nancy Charest
The CHE Consulting Group Inc.
Judith Chernoff
David Chevan
Albert Chiappetta
Beverly Chieffo
Christopher Chisholm
Carol Chometa
Laurie Churchill
Joseph Ciaburri
Lawrence Ciotti
Philip Cronan
Laura Crooks
Janice Crossland
Helen Crowley
James Crowley
Judy Cuddihee
Robert Cuddihee
Patricia & Thomas Cummings
D & D Services LLC
Carolyn Daher
Marcia & John D’Alexander
Mary D’Amato
Raymond D’Amato
Meryl Brodsky
Claudia Broman
Alice Brooks
Joseph Brown
Richard Brown
Phoebe Browning
Kurt Buchholz
Michelle Budwitz
Sandra Bulmer
Jack Burriesci
Rae Burton
Richard Buteau
John Caceci
Fay & Hugh Cafferty
Susan Calahan
Beverly & William Calcagni
William Caliendo
August Cambria
Doreen Cammarata-Gilhuly &
Daniel Gilhuly
Judith Camp
Carol Cangiano
Frank Caparulo
Antone Capitao
Maureen Carey
Wayne Carlson
Donald Casey
James Cashavelly
Ernest Cassella
Rose & Joseph Castellon
Michael Castellucci
William Clapes
Class of 1956
Constance Cleary
Joseph Cleary
Barbara Clifford
Pixie Cody
Mary Cofrancesco
William Cohane
Dona Cohen
Phyllis Cohen
Joseph Colacino
George Colafati
Suzanne Colasanto
Sharon Comkowycz
Phyllis Comrie
William Cone
Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo
Robert Connelly
Lorraine Conway
William Conway
Linda Coppola
James Corbiere
Susan Corneille
Francine & David Coss
Barbara Costello
Courtwood Inc.
Lizanne Cox
Kathleen Coyle
Mary Beth Crandall
Nancy Crandall
Susannah Crego Violino
Laurene D’Amico
Donna D’Angio
Jimmy Davila
Gail Davis
Ruth Ann Davis
Isaac Deas
Andrea DeBoer
Cynthia DeCarlo
Christopher Decker
Paul DeCoster
Timothy Deffley
Rosemary & Thomas DeFilippo
Sarah Dekutowski
Daniel Del Prete
June Delano
Raymond Delehant
Paul DelGobbo
David DeLise
Agnes Dellaselva
Ronald DeLuca
Ralph DeMatteo
Paul Desruisseaux
Michael DeVito
Jane & Merritt Dexter
William Diffley
Patrick Dilger
Kevin Dillane
William Dillane
Claudette Dimaria
Melinda Divicino
Bruce Dobratz
Veronica Doneski
Ann Donohue
Mildred Doody
Anna Doolittle
Thomas Dorr
Kim Dorsey
Shawn Dougherty
Richard Downey
Jacqueline & Gregory Downing
John Doyle
Brian Driscoll
Marian & Robert Drobish
Diane Smith Drugge
Barbara Drummond
MaryAnn Dudley
Mara Dunleavy
Lori Durocher
Joy Duva
William Dyson
Alan Eckstrand
Donna Egloff
Pasquale Elia
Edward Elliman
Jessica Embacher
Lucinda Embersits
Marty Ernstoff
Agatha Esposito
Linda Esposito
Kenneth Ewaskie
Anna-Margaret Fabisiak
Kirkland Fain
Patricia Falk
William Faraclas
Bonnie Farley-Lucas
Lesley Farricielli
Joseph Fazzino
Marybeth Fede
Mary Feige
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Denise Fiedler
Wadad Finan
Lois Fiore
June Estep Fiorelli
David Fiorini
Deborah & Richard*
Fitzsimmons
Cynthia Fixer
Nancy Flammia
Norbert Flammia
Stephen Flanagan
Brandis Flash
Thurza Fletcher
Gustave Flink
Louis Florio
Sarah Flynn
Vicki Folden
James Foley
Clare Ford
Meredith Ford
Martha Fordiani
Verne Foster
Jeffrey Fournier
Frame Advisors LLC
The Frame Shop and Gallery
of Waterbury
Dominic Francese
Diane Frankel-Gramelis
Kelley Frassinelli
Melvin Freden
Joanne Frenkel
Diane Fulco
Janina Fusaro
Francis Gagliardi
Rosemary Gagliardi
Robert Gaipa
John Gallagher
Patrick Gallagher
Charlotte Gallucci
Judy Gardner
Robert Gearing
Henry Gemery
Carol Gennette
Jeannette Gentile
Mark Gentry
Michael Georgen
Joan Gerdsen
Lillian Gerhardt
Ann Gibran
Nancy Gill
Sean Gilmartin
Anthony Ginnetti
Beverly Ginter
Darnell Glass
Howard Gleichenhaus
Betty Gobeille
Audrey Goclowski
Kathleen Goddison
Ellen Godomsky
Adam Goldberg
Jerry Golebiewski
Neil Golub
Isabel Gonzalez-Echevarria
Goodfellas Restaurant
Virginia Goodwin
William Goodwin
Patrick Gorman
Krystyn Gorniak-Kocikowska
Mary Gould
Graebel
Susan Gray
Ruth Green
Robert Gregory
Roberta Grossman
Marcia Gruce
Hope Grunt
Margaret Guelakis
Janet Guilmette
Robert Gulas
Grace Gunnip*
Deborah Gwiazdowski
Valerie Haberl
George Haddad
Catherine Hair
John Hajus
Mitchell Hallock
Audrey Hancock
James Hanley
Michael Hanlon
Harvey Harkness
Terry & Hugo Hart
The Hartford
Hartford Insurance
The Hartford Steam Boiler
Inspection and Insurance Co.
Richard Harvey
Harvey Hubbell Foundation
David Hauser
Jeannette Hawran
Jocelyn Hayes
Headfly Web Solutions LLC
Evelyn Heffernan
Marianne Heffernan
Karen Helland
Raymond Heller
Norman Henchel
Barry Herman
Floresita Hernandez
Patricia Heslin
Deane Hetric
Kim Hibbard
Christine Higgins
Denise Hindinger
Charlotte Hitchcock
Bonnie Hittleman-Lewis
Adele Hodges
Mable Hoffler-Page
Eddis Hoffman
Jerome Hojnacki
Lori Hollings
James Honore
Harry Howell
Margaret Huda
Claudia Hudson
Donald Hughes
Maureen Welch Hunter
Angela Huntley
Florence Johns
Bethann Johnson
Joyce Johnson
Kurt Johnson
Richard Johnson
Robyn Stewart Johnson
Jordan Jones
Diane Julian
Richard Kaminski
Constance Kapral
Eugene Karpinski
Michael Kasinskas
Christopher Keefe
Cindy Keegan
Mary Jane Keeler
Elizabeth Keenan
Mary & Dennis Keenan
Raymond Kellogg
James E. Kelly
James F. Kelly
Janeth Kelly
Jeffrey Kelly
Patricia & Timothy Kennedy
Linda Keshishian
Donald Kessler
Linda King
Martha Kirschner
Miles Kirschner
Edwin Klinkhammer
Kurt Knoernschild
Kenneth Koch
Andrew Koorejian
Susan Langhans
Paul Lapuc
Anthony Laudano
Susan LaVallee
Nicholas Laveris
Dawn Lavoie
Marylou Lavoie
Michelle Lawler
Daniel Leavitt
Linda Lebel
Gloria Lee
Judith Legeza
L’Elegance
Patricia Lenihan
Roberta Leonard
Cora Leonardi
Nathan Lerner
Pamela Lerner
James Letts
Paul Levatino
Levitsky & Berney PC
Frederick Lewis
Catherine Ligi
Maria Loiewski
Timothy Loney
Susie Long
Long Wharf Theatre
Mary Rose Lovello
LRG, LLC
Maureen Lucas
Renee Lynes
Kenneth Lyon
Thomas Hylinski
IBM International Foundation
David Ifkovic
Kenneth Imperato
Stephen Ingulli
Michael Ippolito
Shirley Jackson
Thomas Jacobs
Mary Jadach
Kendra Jemmott
George Jerome
Dorothy Kramer
Jason Krauss
Margaret Krepinevich
John Kryzanowski
Leo Kuczynski
Meghan Kuebler
James Kusack
Rae Lambert
John Lampronikos
Lisa Lancor
Dorothy Lane
Glenn Mackno
Patricia & James Madigan
Lisa Magliocco
Monica Maia
Alison Majeau
Ann Maki
Robert Malchiodi
Anita Malentacchi
Anthony Maltese
Peter Mandras
Dorothy & Patrick Manley
Sharon Manley
Anne Mapolski
David Marczely
Lucille Marottoli
Marianne Marple
Elizabeth Martha
Eleanor Martin
Mary & Jeffrey Martinik
Dorothy Martino
Edward Martino
Barbara Matthews
Kathleen & Anthony Mauro
Ann Maxham
Raymond McGarrity
Daniel McGrath
George McGuigan
James McIntyre
Hollis Mckenna
Paul Mckenzie
William McKernan
Bonnie McNair
Kathleen McNeill
Faye Meacham
Carole & Stanley* Mendygral
Anna Micci
MidState Information
Services
Mihaela Miller
Leslie Millington
Frank Milone
Margaret Mirto
Mary Monahan
Margaret Moniz
Christine Montgomery
Mary Montgomery
Stephen Montgomery
Catherina Mordecai
Debra Moriarty
Kathleen Morin
John Moroniti
Joseph Morris
Christine & David Morrow
Gerald Moss
Evelyn Moulton
Raymond Mugno
Robert Mundy
John Murphy
William Murray
R. Stephen Myrick
Eleanor Nace
Eva Naples
Anne Nardi
Gabriel Nardi
Mary Navin
Betty Naylor
Christine Nelson
David Netinho
Network for Good
Barbara Neufeld
Margaret Newton
Ryan Nobrega
Donald Norcross
Dorothy Noyce
Oak Street Reunion
Eleanor O’Brien*
John O’Dea
William O’Hare
Spring 2014 | 49
Patrick Okeefe
Dorothy Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neil
Maureen Onofrio
George Ostrowski
Tracey Owers
Sadiann Ozment
Gatin Pagano
Andrea Paight
Jeannette Palluzzi
Joseph Palmer
JiongDong Pang
Robert Pannozzo
Carol Papazian
Dorothy Pappas
Vermelle Paris
Joseph Parisi
Lisa Parisi
Donna Parke
Gary Parkman
Jill & Stephen Parkosewich
Steven Parks
Berdjouhi Parseghian
Walda Passaro
Edward Patrick
Randy Paul & Associates Inc.
Harvey Paulin
Patricia Pearson
Sandra Pease
Lynda Pedersen
James Pegolotti
Marite Pelverts
Darnelle Perry
David Peruta
Maria Peters*
Ralph Peters
Fred Petrella
Paul Petrie
Helen Pfeifer
Philadelphia Gymnastics
Center Inc.
Walter Piechota
Edward Pierce
Frank Pinto
Michael Pisani
John Ploski
Francesca Poole
Joseph Poulsen
Dennis Powers
Thomas Powers
Ann Pratson
Susan Prentis
Marie Prete
Geraldine Prince
Prudential Foundation
Kerstin Pugh
Lori Pujda
Marc Rabinoff
Steven Racine
Monica Raffone
Sabdhya Ramesh
Diane Rasch
Jeffrey Raup
Karen Redman
Lillian Reeder
Martin Regan
Tricia Regan
Ann Renstrom
50 | Charitable Giving Report
Resource Video
Theresa Riccio
Cynthia Riccitelli
Paula Rice
Elizabeth Richardson
Bernadette Riggs
Marguerite Rinaldi
Anna Rivera-Alfaro
Arlene Robbins
John Rochette
Michael Rogers
Wayne Schwartz
Marjorie Scorey
Dorothy Scrobko
SCSU Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Association
Linda & Martin Scully
Joseph Seeman
Deborah Seibert
Robert Semenza
Paul Serenbetz
Helen Shecora
Joan & John Sheehy
Cynthia Swainbank
Edmund Swartz
Sweet Boutique
Elaine Swirsky
John Switchenko
Carl Sword
Lisa Taggart
Christina Tashjian
Frank Tavares
Clelia Tenerowicz
Amy Terlaga
Richard Rogerson
Nancy Ronne
Harriet Rosen
Joseph Rossi
Andrea Rowe
Heather Rowe
Donald Rozanski
Paul Rubino
Jennifer Ruggiero
Russell Sage Foundation
Dorothea Russo
Paul Rust
Joseph Sabol
Concetta Sacco
Sahin Holding LLC
Michele Salamone
Michael Salvin
Alain Samson
Frank Samuelson
San Damiano Daily Giving
Cina Santos
Marilyn Santucci
Warren Sarasin
James Savidge
Edward Savino
Carol Sbabo
Donald Sbabo
Salvatore Scafariello
Gay Schenck
Walter Schenck
Emmanuelle Schindler
Irene Schragger
Janice Schuck
Erika Shore
Shubert New Haven
John Sidoli
Kathy Siegler
Kiran Singh
Philip Sirignano
Six Flags New England
Andrew Sklepowicz
David Smith
Ellen Smith
Randall Smith
M. Roberta Spann
Sean Stearley
Steelcase Foundation
Nancy Stellaccio
Sterling Forms & Computer
Supplies
Russell Stevens
Patricia Stich
Heidi Stobbart
Martin Stokes
Cynthia Stretch
Carolyn Strout
Ming Suen
Barbara Sullivan
Constance Sullivan
Easton Sullivan
Lauren Sullivan
Martha Sullivan
Thomas Sullivan
William Sullivan*
Sandra Summers
Ming Sun
Judith Terrill
Kim Tester
Kevin Thompson
The Tiara Club
Lois Tolles
Robert Toothaker
Barbara Torcellini
Cynthia Toscano
Jeffrey Tottenham
John Tracy
Laurie Tracy
Rudolph Trankovich
Carol Tripp
William Turnier
Amy Tursky
Edward Tyburski
UBS Matching Gift Program
Michele Vancour
William Varnum
Mary Vaughn
Jean & Clifford Verron
Nancy Via
Joseph Violetta
Mary Visnic
Robert Vitti
Michael Vollero
Mariacristina Von Feldt
Edward Voss
Ann Wagner
Ann Waldman
Rosemary Waldron
Corneli Wallin
Patricia Walsh
Eleanor & Norman Warrender
Judith Watkins-Shapiro
Suzanne Weber
Thomas Wellington
Wendy Wells
Wells Fargo Foundation
Ann Wengloski
Dal Wentzel
Mary & Edward Weselcouch
Todd Wheeler
Mary Ellen White
Alice Wilcox
Dorothy Willis
William Wilson
Steven Winter
Timothy Wise
Frank Wolak
Patricia Wolf
Roshelley Woodson
Jon Wormley
Michelle Wormley
Roger Woznick
Renay Wright
Kathy Yalof
Mary & James Yanosy
Arthur Yost
John Young
Ralph Yulo
Roselyn Zackin
Charles Zaremskas
William Zenko
Patricia Zibluk
Joyce & Brian Zukauskas
Janet Zukowski
Robert Zuraw
Grants
Favor Inc.
Leakey Foundation
Sociologists for Women in
Society
Faculty and Staff
Honor Roll
Antonio Aceto
Carolyn Alling
Shirley Anderson
Jaye Bailey
James Barber
Leonard Barbieri
Christine Barrett
Nicholas Bauer
Christina Baum
Betsy Beacom
Judith Behler
Michael Ben-Avie
Therese Bennett
Denise Bentley-Drobish
John Bergevin
Corinne Blackmer
James Blake
Leonard Bonn
Peter Boppert
Vivian Bordeaux
Laura Bower-Phipps
Sharon Bradford
Vincent Breslin
Christine Broadbridge
Dian Brown-Albert
Lise Brule
Anthony Brunetti
Sandra Bulmer
Merle Bunco
Rondell Butler
Terrell Bynum
George Caffrey
Susan Calahan
Conrad Calandra
Doreen Cammarata-Gilhuly
Amy Cappello
Mary Pat Caputo
Braxton Carrigan
Suzanne Carroll
Darci Carson
Vincenzo Cassella
Shirley Cavanagh
Thomas Celentano
Oliver Chambers
Jian Chen
Xiao Cheng
Isabel Chenoweth
David Chevan
Sherryl Chin
Karen Christian-Porteous
Catherine Christy
Nancy Chucta
Shawna Cleary
Richard Cogswell
William Cohane
Marylou Conley
Nicholas Constantinople
Rosalie Cota
Brad Crerar
Gregg Crerar
John Critzer
Kimberly Crone
Karen Cummings
Thomas Cummings
John DaPonte
Margaret Das
Linda Davison
Pamela Day
Richard DeCesare
Sandra DeLeoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;n
Robert DeMezzo
Emmett Dennis
Deborah DeSisto
Tanya Diaz
William Diffley
Marie DiFrancesco
Patrick Dilger
Gaetano Dimicco
Ann Dombroski
Michael Donnelly
Giovanni Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Onofrio
Joseph Dooley
Thomas Dorr
Robert Drobish
Suzanne Duke
Jerry Dunklee
Ellen Durnin
Robert Eldridge
Scott Ellis
Ruth Eren
Marian Evans
William Faraclas
Bonnie Farley-Lucas
Ann Farrier
Marybeth Fede
David Feinmark
Chaka Felder
Vincent Ferrie
Janelle Finch
Lawrence Fitzgerald
Nicole Fluhr
Deborah Flynn
Ellen Frank
Kelley Frassinelli
DonnaJean Fredeen
Philip Gaboriault
Betsy Galian
Peggy Gallup
Lisa Galvin
Marie Garcia-Abrines
Terese Gemme
Ross Gingrich
Barbara Glynn
Ada Goldberg
Floyd Gollnick
Krystyna GorniakKocikowska
Robert Gregory
Paula Kennedy
Hak Joon Kim
Janet Klicsu
Renee Knight
Michael Kobylanski
Philanthi Koslowski
Timothy Krauss
Klay Kruczek
James Kusack
Frank LaDore
David Lake
Lisa Lancor
Cassandra Lang
Susan Larson
Michelle Lawler
Susan Lawrence
Gloria Lee
Heidi Lockwood
William Lunn
Christopher Lynn
Barbara Mallick
Anthony Maltese
Michelle Mann
Doris Marino
Jane Marrone
James Mazur
Robert McEachern
Hollis Mckenna
Ryan Nobrega
Vitrice Oliver
Linda Olson
Wanda Outing
Tracey Owers
JiongDong Pang
Patricia Panichas
Timothy Parrish
Cynthia Patterson
Jacqueline Patton
Gregory Paveza
Belinda Pearman
Sandra Pease
Darnelle Perry
Lucille Perry
Philip Pessina
Paul Petrie
Laura Pettie
Carolynn Pettit
Christine Petto
Christopher Piscitelli
Francesca Poole
Geraldine Prince
Deborah Puglia
Susan Quagliaroli
Timothy Quill
Monica Raffone
Jaak Rakfeldt
Stanley Seliga
Joseph Selvaggio
Michael Shea
Cynthia Shea-Luzik
Robert Sheeley
Pamela Sheppard
Winnie Shyam
Eric Simms
Judith Sizensky-Searles
Andrew Smyth
Maureen Spellman
Dawn Stanton-Holmes
Bridget Stepeck-Holt
Brigitte Stiles
Cynthia Stretch
Villia Struyk
Walter Stutzman
Theresa Sutherland
Daniel Swartz
Frank Tavares
Angela Todaro
Lawrence Tomascak
Jaime Toth
David Vance
Michele Vancour
Merryalis Vazquez
Mary Verner
Carol Wallace
Wendeline Hardenberg
Frank Harris
Martin Hartog
William Hochman
Margaret Huda
Sandra Huebner
Percy Huggins Jr.
Shirley Jackson
Sondi Jackson
Kurt Jagielow
Bethann Johnson
Sara Johnson
Michelle Johnston
Jordan Jones
Barbara Kagan
Patricia Kahlbaugh
Elizabeth Keenan
Raymond Kellogg
Robin Kenefick
Marianne Kennedy
Paul Mckenzie
Kevin McNamara
Joel Meisel
Diane Michaelsen
Norman Middendorf
Sharon Misasi
Joyce Moore
Giacomo Mordente
Winnifred Morgan
Diane Morgenthaler
Gary Morin
Mehdi Mostaghimi
Raymond Mugno
Bennie Murphy
Joseph Musante
James Mutts
Gerard Nelson
Vara Neverow
Deborah Newton
Patricia Nicol
Lisa Rebeschi
Tricia Regan
Richard Riccardi
Paula Rice
Lystra Richardson
Anna Rivera-Alfaro
Salvatore Rizza
Linda Robinson
Mary Robinson
John Rochette
Michael Rogers
Nancy Ronne
Heather Rowe
Jennifer Ruggiero
Michele Salamone
Theresa Sandifer
Marlene Santiago-Cordero
Cindy Schofield
Marcia Schultz
Jessica Scibek
Jan Wang
Aaron Washington
Mark Waters
Megane Watkins
Carlton Watson
Deborah Weiss
Colby Whelan
Patricia Whelan
Marvin Wilson
Timothy Wise
Robert Workman
Jianxiong Wu
Kommaly Xayasone
Kathy Yalof
Phyllis Young
Patricia Zibluk
*Deceased
Spring 2014 | 51
Southern Connecticut State University Foundation, Inc.
Board of Directors
OFFICERS
EMERITI DIRECTORS
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS
David R. McHale • Chairman
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative
Officer
Northeast Utilities System
Lucille W. Alderman
James E. Blake
Executive Vice President for Finance and
Administration
Southern Connecticut State University
Richard F. Tripodi • Vice Chairman
President
RFTS Inc.
Michael R. Chambrello • Treasurer
Mary O’Connell Kozik • Secretary
Senior Chemist
AECOM Corporation
Robert L. Stamp • Executive Director
Vice President, Institutional Advancement
Southern Connecticut State University
BOARD MEMBERS
Paula Armbruster
Associate Clinical Professor (Retired)
Yale University
Dr. Robert S. Frew
Professor Emeritus of Computer Science
Southern Connecticut State University
Frederick R. Afragola
Chairman
Frame Advisors
Frank D. Antin
Senior Vice President (Retired)
The Bank of New York Mellon
Mackey Barron
President
HB Communications Inc.
Lynn Fusco
President
Fusco Corporation
Robin Sauerteig
John Soto
President
Space-Craft Manufacturing Inc.
Diane L. Wishnafski
Executive Vice President (Retired)
NewAlliance Bank
Charles Baraw, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English
Southern Connecticut State University
Erin McGuckin
Student Representative
Southern Connecticut State University
Mary A. Papazian, Ph.D.
President
Southern Connecticut State University
Robert D. Parker
Alumni Association Representative
Director of Communications (Retired)
ACES
Teresa Sirico
Alumni Association Representative
Teresa Sirico Realtor LLC
Thomas J. Madigan
Vice President, Investments
UBS Financial Services Inc.
John J. Mezzanotte
Partner-in-Charge
Marcum LLP
Marc A. Nivet, Ed.D.
Chief Diversity Officer
Association of American Medical Colleges
William H. Pratt, Esq.
Partner
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner
LLP
Anthony F. Verlezza
Associate Partner
Equus Group LLC
Pieter van Vredenburch
52 | Charitable Giving Report
CONTACT US
For additional information, please contact:
Southern Connecticut State University Foundation, Inc.
Telephone: (203) 392-6900
Gifts may be made online at:
SouthernCT.edu/giving
or you may contact the Development Office.
Telephone: (203) 392-5598
IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS.
Like money for course books.
Supplies for research projects.
Or bus fare to campus.
THE AAA (Academics,
Administration, and Alumni)
Student Relief Fund
provides emergency
assistance to students
who have an immediate,
short-term need
for financial support.
YOUR GIFT TO THE FUND —
combined with contributions
from other alumni, friends, faculty,
and staff — makes it possible for
Southern students to stay in school
and earn their college degrees.
Please designate your gift
to the AAA Fund today.
Because
sometimes
THE LITTLE THINGS
Any gift over $35 automatically
makes you a full member in the
SCSU Alumni Association, which
keeps you connected to Southern
and provides a world of special
benefits reserved for members.
are all
you need
to make the
biggest
dreams
come true.
A
challenge
has been issued between
Alumni, Administration, and
Academics (AAA) to raise money
for our students. We are asking our
to meet this challenge
by raising $5,000 toward the
AAA Student Relief Fund.
alumni
Please make a gift to our students today by returning the envelope provided or by visiting us at Giving.SouthernCT.edu.
Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Burlington, VT
Permit No. 19
Spring | 14
Alumni Association
501 Crescent Street
New Haven, CT 06515-1355
SouthernCT.edu
Address Service Requested
SOUTHERN HAS ADOPTED A
onoring
H
Graduating
new graduation tradition — one that
recognizes veterans’ commitment to
Veterans
their studies and their country. In addition to
donning the traditional cap and gown at commencement,
graduating veterans are now invited to wear a patriotic blue
stole that includes a panel of white stars surrounded by the
words, “Valor and Respect” and “United States Veteran.”
The tradition, which began with the May 2013 commencement exercises, has been well received. “We asked
our graduating veterans to stop by the SCSU Veterans Office,
explaining that there was something we wanted to give
them,” says Giacomo (Jack) Mordente, M.S. ’77, 6th Yr. ’79,
Southern’s coordinator of Veterans and Military Affairs. “It
was great to see their reactions.”
Southern currently has about 375 military-connected
students, including active-duty military, veterans, reservists,
members of the National Guard, and dependents. “It doesn’t make any difference what branch of the military they’re
with,” says Mordente. “They all have such respect for each
other. The camaraderie is tremendous . . . and it’s
wonderful to have one more way to show that.”
Diploma in hand, Toranio “Tito” Melbourne, ’13, celebrates his achievement.